A/N: Take a seat and grab some snacks, this will be quite a long chapter to swim through.
The world stood frozen in a perfect silent diorama where even light seemed trapped in place, and at its center stood Sam, every muscle taut warily at the smiling man in the fedora.
"Me? i'm not someone important, just treat me like a dream that drifted far away beyond the cosmos." The man replied cryptically, his smile maintaining the same casualness he had at the beginning.
Sam's eyes darted around while keeping his distance with the man, and no matter where he looked, everything froze in place, the birds, people, even the falling leaves stopped mid air.
"You didn't answer my question, I will ask once again, tell me, who are you?" Sam asked for the second time, his mind running at top speed, trying to figure out what's happening.
'I need to find a way to get away from here, fast.' Sam thought.
"Easy there Sam, i'm not going to hurt you. I promise." The man replied lazily, walking toward Sam slowly.
"How about this then? Are you the one who's responsible for causing everything around us to freeze in time?" Sam launched another question, carefully stepping back for every step the man took toward him.
'This is bad, I felt like even if I could run, he'll catch up to me somehow. Damn it! Think of something!' Sam maintained the same alert and hostile posture as his thoughts panicking out of his mind.
"Oh? That's a pretty good instinct you have there, you should listen to that Sam." He then stopped taking steps toward Sam.
"As for your question? I didn't stop time," His voice was oddly amused, the man pulled a pocket watch and throw it in the air, when it fell catching it with a single hand in a dramatic flair. Then he continue. "I simply stopped playing the recording."
"What kind of cryptic bullshit are you talking about?" Sam's spatted, eyes narrowing in anger.
The man chuckled lightly then responded. "Just as i said, I simply stopped playing it." He continued, this time with a chilling tone, "To be exact, I don't feel the need to continue rewinding your memory."
"My what..? Memory..?" Sam eyes went wide as saucers.
"Yes, your memory. This park, the people within it." The man then clapped his hand together as if remembering something. "Oh! Did I mention mentioned about your family? I think i could—"
The moment Sam heard 'his family', the hostility from before erupted to a whole other level. "Don't. I don't care whether this is real or not, but I swear to God if you twisted anything about them, whatever the fuck you are even if it cost me my life, you will pay."
"Ooh~ How terrifying," the man said mockingly, he hugged his own body in a perfect pantomime of fear, but the smile never left his lips
Sam met the sarcastic gesture with a dead, unblinking stare.
"Alright relax, don't jump into the wrong assumption young man, i won't do anything to them or your memories in the first place." the man sigh exasperated helplessly. "Goodness, kids these days really love making their own assumption." The man shook his head in disappointment exaggeratedly .
Then suddenly man snapped his fingers, the frozen world shook and break apart. It was like a soundless psychic wave of crumbling glass tore through Sam's mind as the 'illusion' fractured into a billion glittering shards.
What greeted Sam behind the shattered reality stole the breath from his lungs: an endless night sky, a sea of stars so vast and profound it felt like looking into the universe's open heart. Beneath his feet, a solid plane of water stretched into infinity.
And without him noticing, now he was sitting on a wooden chair. In front of him stood a circular black and white table made out of some sort precious materials, on top of it—a cup of warm green tea sat on the edge of the table near Sam.
Across from him, the man sat leisurely facing straight at him, documents still in his hand while the other held a lit up cigarette. The man's smile was still the same as before, never changed or gone away. Same as half of his face, still hidden and obscured by his hat.
Sam blinked once, twice, his thoughts were trying to process what the hell just happened.
"Don't think too much about it kid, you're gonna hurt that little brain of yours." The man chuckled, then inhaled his cigarette.
He took a long draw from the cigarette and let the smoke curl out of his mouth, it took a lazy ribbon shape. The wisp lifted and dissolved, he watched the gray trail vanish.
With a small practiced shrug, he said. "All right. Let's talk properly now, Sam. Just relax, take a breath." He leaned back, palms flat on his knees, eyes half-hidden beneath his hat brim. "And for Goodness sake, stop glaring at me like you can see through to my skull."
Sam's muscles which had been taut since the man's first word, loosened for a fraction. His suspicion sat like a stone in his chest, but his curiosity gnawing rawer and louder. A man who could unmake the 'world' with a snap should be impossible to trust but still, in the end Sam found himself answering with a cautious resigned voice. "Sigh…okay. What do you want to talk about?"
"Good." The man's mouth tilted. He held the cigarette between two fingers and flicked his wrist toward the neat stack of papers in his hand. "It's about you. Basically, where we left off."
Sam let out a small, humorless laugh. "You already know everything about me, don't you? I may not be a genius, but I'm not dumb."
"Technically speaking, you are correct," The man tapped the cigarette lit ash, watching the ember glow. "But I always believe personal answers are richer than dry reports." He tossed the papers up in the air as if they were confetti, for a heartbeat they fluttered and glide in the air, then suddenly curled as flame licked their edges and engulfed them into ashes. "I want to hear it from you, personally."
He continue, his voice professional and smooth. "But before we start, is there anything you want to ask? Consider it my courtesy."
For a long moment Sam considered the shape of each question, he ran through the list in his mind: the practical stuff, the moral stuff, the things he'd never let himself say aloud, etc.
But the moment he decided to speak, the words tumbled out with a nervous haste he couldn't hide. "Okay: where are we? How did I get here? Is there a way out? Who are you? How do you know about me? Am i even alive? And—"
The man's hand shot up, stopping Sam like a referee calling a halt. He laughed and chuckle softly, amused. "Woah easy, easy. One at a time, machine gunner Sam."
"That's a lot of questions, i don't think it's fair for me to just sit here and answer all the things you asked for, so here's the deal: I'll answer as best as I can, but for every answer I give, you answer one of mine. Deal?"
A trade with a being who could freeze time and manipulate space was insane, outright absurd. But Sam's brain did a quick calculation: information are needed for his survival down the line if he's still alive, and if there's anything that'll bite him in his ass due to this deal, he can only leave the danger later for the future him to solve.
He finally shrugged and reached out. The man's palm was unexpectedly warm, callused. "All right," Sam said firmly. "I accept, but with boundaries. Nothing about my weaknesses. Nothing that gives away the people I love."
The man nodded slowly. "No problem, and now let's begin. Let's see.."
The man pointed down and said. "The answer to your first question: This place is one of countless wonders in the vast universe, this one here is my favorite. So, what do you think? Isn't it beautiful?" The man's replied, his smile seemed to genuinely brightened up.
Sam's eyes carefully gazed and trying to taking in everything around him, and he had to admit—everything in this place was beautiful, like something that came straight from a breathtaking painting, the beauty of heaven and earth complemented each other seamlessly.
"I think this is the most wonderful place i've ever seen in my life so far." Sam replied, his voice honest and relaxed, but when he continued further, his voice turned into a somber whisper, a quiet hush. "If only I can share this view with my family..."
Sam shook his head, ridding the thought away. "Enough about that, your turn." His voice was now devoid of somber, it changes as fast as it came.
"Hm... that's unexpected," He tilted his head and continued. "Though I must say it's interesting, even in this moment you think of your family huh? Must be a warm household, lucky~"
Sam eyes blank for a moment as he mentally slapping himself in the face, 'fuck! I forgot he's here, I must be more careful next time.'
Sam crossed his arms and tried to shift the subject. "There's no reason we're talking about my family further in this conversation now, let's talk about something else."
"I could think about plenty of reasons," the man said, wagging a finger and shaking his head. "But let's just say... it's a topic to lighten the mood, yeah~? Well, it's also something I want to know, just curious."
"And what if I don't want to talk about it?" Sam shot back, trying to shut it down.
"We could always just stare at the cosmos and enjoy our silence… forever, be my guest. Believe me, I can do this all day~ Hahaha~"
The reply sounded like a bad joke, but Sam couldn't shake the feeling it wasn't far from the truth. If the man could do all manner of impossible things with his power, keeping him here for God knows how long doesn't seemed to an impossible task.
"Well jokes aside, you can't refuse my question. It's within reason after all." The man chuckled seemingly amused, he push his hand together like a calculating businessman and continue. "My question for you is: what do you think about your family? I would like you to elaborate in details."
Sam remain silent, refusing to answer. But suddenly he felt a cold clarity cut through him, like a deep inhale. For a second he had no time to craft a guarded answer nor is he willing to; the man's voice had opened a door inside him and he involuntarily stepped inside it.
What comes next are words that are smooth and true. "They're everything to me, my most precious things. I'd do anything for them."
When the sentence left his mouth, a strange hush gathered. The man stay unmoving,not giving any reaction for a moment. But in this hush silence, Sam could only felt the bitter aftertaste in his mouth and a hot prickling of embarrassment crawling up his neck.
Sam snapped back out of his stupor at the man. "Another one of your magic trick? What did you do?" he hissed, fingers tightening on the chair.
"It's nothing, just the deal taking effect." He folded his fingers together and steepled them, eyes locked on Sam. "Gentlemen has to keep their agreements after all."
The man then lean in, finger interlock in his hands like a businessman. "So, would you like to elaborate further on that on your own or would you like the deal take the wheel again?"
Sam's stomach churned. 'Damn it! He had me! Alright think, think! No choice, I have to answer his question,but let's try to keep it simple.'
It took a moment for the trick to land, the way the man had guided Sam's thought into answering was not force, not hypnotism, but a courteous, inexorable pressure.
Sam felt uncomfortably exposed, he swallowed down the discomfort and tried to gather himself. "Well, y'know how it is, who doesn't love their family? I don't know about you but for me—i did everything I can to make my family happy."
He took a deep breath and continued, "If we're talking about luck, yes, I'm lucky enough to be born into a loving and warm family." He chuckled and shook his head, "What more could I ask for?"
"There are many things you can ask for: Wealth, Power, Title, Influence, and so on. If you have either one of those, let alone you—your own family will benefit from it."
Sam smile wryly, "I Know, just a figure of speech. That said, I know what i'm capable of so i'm not gonna bite more than I can chew in life."
"There it is, we got our first inconsistency." the lean back into the chair, he tapped into the table rhythmically with his index finger. "But from the looks of it you didn't even aware about it, interesting... Sre you sure that's the whole truth? Or are you deliberately fooling yourself and drowning in your own illusion?"
Sam brows narrowed in genuine confusion, "I'm afraid I don't get it, what do you mean by that?"
"Alright, it's better to show it to you directly, let me take you to a little tour real quick shall we?" The man stood up and walked to Sam's side. Sam held his composure, refusing to flinch. "Keep your eyes open Sam, perhaps this could clear away the fog inside you."
The mesmerizing surrounding shifted as if the time and space has been stretched till it all vanished, now they stood on some kind of prehistoric plain, and they're not alone.
A scene of a collosal mammoth, terrified, fled from a band of humans with stone play out in front of them. The beast was on the verge of exhaustion, its speed were frustratingly sluggish. It turned around to fight out of desperation, but unfortunately the humans were too cunning. Their movements are well coordinated with one another, they harried it, dodged its tusks repeatedly, and finally brought the titan crashing down with a well-placed strike to its heart.
"Amazing isn't it? Such a magnificent creature fell before the humans who were born the weakest of all creatures," the man's voice cut from the side. "No sharp claws. No deadly fangs. No wings. No tough armor. Just a fragile skin and bones couple with a will to live."
As he spoke, shadows of the predators he named came into view: a Sabertooth, tyrannosaurus, pterodactyl flickered at the edges of the vision, emphasizing the point.
"And yet, they persisted. Not through raw strength, but through cunning wit and burning will. Those are your birthright." He stopped and fix his hidden gaze on Sam. "But you have forgotten it."
"Humans are beings that surpassed the apex predator since ancient times, dominating their way in history all the way through the modern era. Creating numerous heroes, myth, legends, and renowned historical figures."
"Have you ever heard of the quote?" The man asked, his voice dropping. ""hard times create strong men, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times." It was such a vicious yet inevitable cycle."
"I've heard of it plenty of times, it's as common as knowing mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell." Sam replied casually, but the lingering confusion is still written all over his face.
"Good to hear that, because—" he pointed at Sam. "You are the product of good times, Sam. You're weak, unmotivated, living like a drifting log on an endless river."
"What the fuck? Where did that come from? Weak? Said from a man who can control time and space! Gee compared me to that ofc i'm weak. But unmotivated? You better watch your mouth." Sam snapped at him, feeling wronged.
"Well, am I wrong?" He snapped his fingers again, gone were the prehistoric era, it was now replaced by a very familiar scene, Sam's life.
The scene showed Sam working at a pizzeria place, going home, working again and again. A monotone endless cycle with little to no changes.
"What a boring, flat life. Do you really think this is living? There's no up nor down, what a shame.. I've pitied your untapped potential and future."
"What the—? Who the hell are you to judge the way I live?! Say what you want about me, but i'm happy and content with what I do! Besides, why the hell are we talking about this anyway? This is fucking weird man!" Sam replied defensively.
"Let's pretend I didn't know everything, but I can confidently say I know how to live a proper life as a human pretty well." The man ignored Sam's complaining.
"...Heh sure, whatever you say weirdo." Sam snorted dismissively.
"Aren't you curious why did I think so Sam?" The man asked.
"Nope, your opinion of me is not important to me. I don't live off of people validation, especially not from someone like you, stop wasting both of our time and just move on man! Come on!"
"It's because you're not willing to step forward for a better future. Take your family for example, if your family doesn't need more money, you won't leave that pizzeria for god knows how long until you search for a better job." The man ignored Sam yet once again and kept talking on his own.
"This motherfucker ignoring me again?" Sam muttered in disbelief,.
Sam tried to composed himself from getting rage baited and continue reluctantly. "Fuck me, where are you going with this? Alright let me ask you something then, is it wrong for me to stick with something I already have and work? Surely not right?"
Then the man had the audacity to flashed a subtle wide grinned as if to say he just won something. "It's not wrong yeah I agree with that, but don't you have any desire to make your loves one happy?"
He put a hand on Sam's shoulder. "Look here Sam, even a shepherd dog can live until they died of old age just by working and eating. But you're not a dog, right? You're a human, your family is a human. Humans have way more needs and purpose apart from just eating and shitting to live another day."
"Alright i get it, so what's your point damn point?." Sam asked, clearly irritated.
"My point is, based on the available records, I can concluded one thing: you only grow when forced, you refuse to step beyond your own small portrait of the world out of fear."
"Don't you want to take your family travel around the world to see the beauty and wonder it has? Don't you want to see your siblings to have every needs fulfilled without anything less? Don't you want to ease your weary mother by painting good memories with her? Tell me, have you ever thought of any of this? No, you don't. You're afraid of taking a step forward, too comfortable to see beyond oneself."
And then silence sat between them. Amidst that silence, Sam tried to think over about the silver lining the man trying to convey, reflecting on every single word he had just said. Is it weird for him to lecture Sam about his life out of nowhere? Hell yeah. But is it filled with nonsense? No. Sam didn't know why the man went out of his way to say all of this, honestly it felt weird and irritating. It felt so sudden, to the point of being utterly out of place.
"Sigh... Alright stop flaming my ass, let's end this topic here. Why are you telling me all of this—? Wait, no, scratch that, what I meant is i don't see what's the point of talking about my family and my questionable life choices out of nowhere like this." Sam said, genuinely not knowing what is he supposed to think of this bizarre situation.
"Well, just think of me watering a budding sprout and adding a bit of fertilizer so it grows properly. It's not charity, it's an investment." The man cryptically replied.
"What sprout? For the love of god! Can you speak normally?!"
The man chuckled, "let me rephrase that a little bit," the man turned around facing Sam, half of his face still hidden. "Here's the thing, it's not everyday i've met a human containing a fragment of universe's law, your gift is extraordinarily unique. In order for someone or something to obtain that gift is only by the will of the universe itself, no matter how powerful or worthy you are if it deemed you can't have it then that's it."
"Hell nah, a what now? A fragment of universe's law??! This is way too much damn information!"
"Eh deal with it, it's not like you'll implode from thinking." The man replied casually and shrugged, he continue. "Anyway, the fragment I'm talking about is a kind of semi sentient thing inside you, does it ring any bell? Oh and let me tell you something: its quite a troublesome lad, doesn't like me much for whatever reason."
Though his mind still reeling from the information overlook, Sam managed to remembered something, the thing that comes along with his transmigration, the one who accompanied him along the journey—
'The system! Is there a correlation between the gift and the system I have??'
"Hmm~ Seems like you already guess it—more or less. Impressive." The man said, his voice amused. He continued, "Do you know why it's decided by the will of the universe but not some sort of grand qualifications?"
"I don't want to be sounds like a smartass here, so my answer is I don't know." Sam replied, shaking his head.
"Because, bestowing a fragment costs the universe a piece of its own existence. It is the ultimate sacrifice: like offering your own heart to a dying man while your own life bleeds out. Hence why, i'm doing my part of "guiding" you in hope you'll be able to forge your path forward from now on. It'd be a shame for someone like you to stray into the wrong path."
"Well, in the worse case scenario, if the vessel can't contain the fragment they both will perish. Basically both side loses something precious without gaining anything. Once again, It'd be a shame right Sam?"
"So what's the solution to that? Well, there are four things that needs to grow. Mind, spirit, body, and soul—in short let's it called the Avatar state. Only when four of these grow equally will your body can hold that vast power, and wield it to its utmost capacity."
The man walked away from Sam, his gaze wander upon the stars. "Will my lecture affect your growth or not, that's something I don't know myself. But that's all I can do as a stranger chained in the audience seat."
After hearing the man thorough explanation, Sam was stunned. First, there was a ton of information to process, why would the universe burn away a part of its own existence for him, just a regular human that can be found anywhere. And... Death, does it mean he will perish soon? What about going home? What about his family? What about—
The man snapped his finger loud enough to brought Sam back into reality. "Relax, you don't need to worry Sam, you won't die anytime soon from the fragment."
"But I don't get it, why did the universe give me something so precious?"
The man shrugged and shook his head, "Beats me, what do you think I am? i'm not a universe."