Walker came back to reality in a most unusual location.

  Small pieces of debris fell to the ground in an unceremonial clattering as he gently pulled his shoulders out of the hard, cushioned wall. Pushing himself out of the while simultaneously negating gravity, Walker gently floated over his throne. It looked a little different, and he thought he knew why.

  Congratulations Architect Dante!

  Your universe has achieved a second plane of reality.

  …Analyzing Architect Dante’s Discoveries…

  Adjusting selected rewards for achievement…

  …New title found…

  System Architect-> Soul Architect

  Please speak with your guide to better understand what your new rank affords you.

  Congratulations Architect Dante!

  Due to your change in rank, your Territorial seat has upgraded!

  Medium->Large

  Congratulations Architect Dante!

  Due to your increase in rank and adjusted for your unique title, one of your selected abilities has been upgraded.

  System Viewer-> Soul Vision

  …Analyzing new plane of reality…

  …

  …

  Due to your newly established Soul plane, the Omniverse has seen fit to grant you a system that will assist you in its management.

  “Well, that’s new,” Walker said after reading it. The title change made him question himself: was he a Soul Architect? Is that the direction his route in life would now take him, or just something the Omniverse had set up because of his recent actions? And what the hell was soul vision?

  Admittedly, in the long moments he’d worked in the Time Rings, more than a little had to do with strands of the soul. But was that enough to qualify him to receive a special title like that?

  He found a message ringing in his overlay, a congratulations on his title upgrade from Xandar with a promise that he would look into getting him access to the Strand Repository. A small, slight sense of relief hit Walker’s healing but bruised shoulders. Maybe all of the -versal people weren’t as dickish as what he dealt with on a daily basis. Maybe the Omniverse wasn’t as bad as the Evolververse.

  Before he looked at what he’d earned, Walker began to walk toward the slowly self-repairing hole in the wall. However, he couldn’t help but look back at the throne. It had grown several feet in height, likely a conscious decision by the Omniverse to throw his rank at anyone who visited, and forcing him to consider his life’s trajectory again. Was that who he was meant to be? Some kingly person standing, or sitting in this instance, above all others?

  Walker slipped through the hole before it could seal itself- that’s when his eyes found the arch.

  What had once been pearlescent stone was still pearlescent stone, only now, an unmistakable aura of white extended several feet around it. As he approached it, coming to stand just beyond the nimbus of energy, Walker felt something within his body wake up. He wasn’t the only one to notice, as the Book of Souls exited on its own, gently floating toward the arch as it gave off only one feeling that Walker could describe…awe.

  Before he could stop it, his Icon entered the arch.

  “What the fu-” He said just before he felt his body rock backward as a pulse of white exited the arch for the second time that day. It was far less powerful than the previous eruption, but still enough to knock him off feet. As he picked himself up off the grass, Walker felt the Book of Souls exit.

  The new feeling he received was something like satisfaction.

  “Hello,” He heard in his mind as the now-white Book of Souls rose to his eye-level, “Is this better?”

  Walker slapped his forehead.

  Hades was a Primigenial among Primigenials. A god among gods. You know, a dick.

  As the portal opened up nearby, he was currently having a conversation with Athena about the weaknesses of encouraging bravery, “You die! That’s the secret to the brave: They. All. Die.”

  “Well, not all of them,” Walker said as the portal closed behind him, “Hades, I’ve got your afterlife.”

  The god of the underworld crossed his arms, a doubting look on his face, “Oh really?”

  Walker nodded with a smile, “Really.”

  Hades looked at him for a long moment, the smile never leaving the Creator’s face, before saying, “Really?”

  “Osiris,” Walker yelled out as he entered the monitoring room. Ra, the Egyptian Primigenial stepped in front of the Creator.

  “How may we assist you, Creator?”

  Walker smiled at him, “I’ve got Osiris’s afterlife ready for him. I just need him to take a trip with me.”

  “I see,” Ra nodded. He looked at the group, paused, then looked back at Walker, “I have to ask, will Osiris be returning to us.”

  Walker hedged with his hands, “Maybe. It depends on what happens when we get there.”

  There was another pause, the Egyptian Primigenials looking at one another again, then Ra stepped back as the Egyptian god of the afterlife stepped forward, “Please be kind to my family.”

  Walker nodded, “I will, and thank you for the trust.”

  Walker, Hades, and Osiris exited the portal to a new universe. Strangely, neither Primigenial acted as if they were going to die floating in space.

  “Provincial,” Hades said with a sneer as Osiris simply looked around with a placid expression.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Another portal opened before them, space pushing them into the white room of Ulysses' Metaphysical realm, a part already waiting to greet them.

  “Good day, Hades, Osiris; Welcome to my universe.”

  “And who are you?” Hades said with a glare, strutting toward the part with all the arrogance of one who had once controlled their own realm.

  A thousand parts appeared all at once around the area, “I am the one and the many.” They said in a corruscating and sing-song manner, “I am the mind and body of the Symphony universe, the destroyer and creator of worlds and stars alike.” Every part winked out but one, “But you can call me Ulysses.”

  If Hades was affected by the display, he didn’t show it, “I know that name. Why would you name yourself after a fool.”

  “It seemed appropriate,” the part said with a shrug. Looking past the Primigenial, his eyes grabbed Walker’s, “So, are we ready to do this?”

  “Almost,” Walker replied, “The arch said we could take three, so I was wondering if you wanted to be the third.”

  The part crossed its arms, “And how would that work? Are you going to do some weird strand shit and drag me there?”

  “Nothing like that,” Walker said as he pointed at the part, “How many Spirit resources is this part.”

  “About five hundred, why do you ask?”

  “Because I’d like to give you some agency regarding the Arch, and I need this part to do it.”

  “Is it going to hurt?”

  “No?” Walker replied, not entirely sure if it would hurt. At least, he didn’t think so.

  “Mmm, fine. But it better not hurt.”

  Settling that, Walker produced an Immortal strand. Stepping up to the part, who immediately took a step back, he followed, placing it on its chest. A white eruption covered the area. When it cleared, the Part still stood there, but it now had a white and glowing pearl embedded in its chest, a confused expression on its face.

  Walker felt the area change as Ulysses greatly focused on them. Hades knees buckled from the pressure while Osiris calmly sat on the ground. As the two adjusted, another part appeared next to the one with the strand attached to its chest, looking it over with an angry expression. It suddenly swiveled to Walker, “You owe me five hundred spirit. No, you know what. You owe me a thousand. A thousand spirit resources!”

  “That’s fair,” Walker said with a grin. He turned to the other part, “How do you feel?”

  The former part touched the strand in its chest, a sad look on its face, “Disconnected.”

  Walker put a hand on its shoulder, “I’m sorry about that. I figured, who better to manage the Soul plane than a piece of the Universe it inhabits.” Walker called out the Book of Souls, its white cover quickly opening. On the page sat a Tiger, fearsome enough to seem real. The book glowed a soft white before the Tiger leaped from the page, growing in size as it reached the apex of its jump. When it landed, a living, breathing tiger stood in the white room. To those paying attention, they’d find an Immortal strand attached to its chest.

  “This wasn’t done on a whim; I tested it beforehand.”

  “When?” The still-connected Ulysses demanded.

  “When I was on Symphony. You can’t see everything over there, you know.”

  The part scowled and then disappeared. Walker eyed the disconnected one standing straight, touching the strand on his chest, “Does this make you my grandpa?”

  “What? Maybe your great-grandpa,” Walker replied as he scrubbed a hand through his hair, “I…I guess? I don’t know. This hurts my brain too much to think about right now…and I just spent several decades doing thinking that hurts my brain.” He looked at the white ceiling, “Ulysses, can we get a portal to Conduction.”

  “Nuh-uh.”

  “Please?”

  “I want my resources.”

  Walker sighed, “I’ll get you your resources, but I need to take care of a few things first.”

  A portal opened nearby, showing the arch in all its glory. Still, it did so slowly, closing and re-opening multiple times as the Universal Personality showed off his annoyance with the Creator. Walker held back the part and Primigenials from stepping through until it stopped acting erratically. Just before stepping through, Walker in the front, it closed.

  He looked up at the sky, “Really?”

  “Just know I’m not happy with you.”

  “Noted.”

  The portal opened like normal, and they stepped through.

  “What’s that?” Hades said immediately, as his eyes locked onto the entrance to the afterlife.

  “Umm,” Walker said as he rubbed his chin, “that’s your new home.”

  Hades circled the glowing portal, looking around it from every angle before returning to the group, “That’s not right. The afterlife is bound to the world it inhabits. It’s not this,” he gestured dismissively toward the arch, “thing. Show me where it really is if you want your task completed. Show me the fire and light. The cold grip of death and massive guardians who eat you for blinking wrong.”

  Walker laughed, “I don’t know what to tell you, man, that’s the afterlife for this universe. A contained realm for the soul, independent but still connected to the greater universe. A layer of reality unseen by those who don’t have the power to do so. The Omniverse itself confirmed it for me. I spent thirty-seven years figuring out how to do this. That and the steps to follow.”

  “Thirty-eight,” A voice from above said, “You took a break.”

  Walker scowled at the sky, “Shut up,” he said, momentarily forgetting he owed the Universal Personality for stealing his part.

  As Hades and Osiris looked at the arch, the Greek god quietly speaking to the Egyptian, Walker pulled his other guest aside, “I don’t want to keep calling you Ulysses. You’re almost a normal person now. Do you have an idea of what you’d like to be called?”

  “I’m going to be managing the afterlife, correct?”

  Hades and Osiris turned around as Walker replied, “Almost. There were several options that I had to set up, and it’s far more linear than I thought it would be. Hades there, will be managing the souls that lived darker and more violent lives. By setting him up with the Soul plane, it’ll create an environment that he gets to choose.”

  “Yes!” The primigenial yelled out before laughing. “I have no idea how you made this thing or how it works, but if I get to punish mortal bastards for the next seeming eternity, I am all in.”

  “Yea-uh,” Walker looked over at Osiris, “You will be managing the souls that lived better lives. According to what I understand, they will have the option of returning to the living world, but you will have to discover how to do that yourself.”

  The Egyptian Primigenial nodded, giving him a brief and fleeting smile.

  “And me?” The part asked, “What am I to do?”

  “You’re going to be the judge. You’re going to decide if a soul deserves to go to the Hades side, or the Osiris side. I’m not sure how it works, but I am sure you will do a fantastic job.”

  The part nodded, “I see…then, call me Zenos.”

  Walker thought back to what that meant for a moment. It took longer than expected, but once he understood the meaning, he smiled. “That’s perfect Zenos. And, since you’re already ready to join, you can go first.” He looked toward the arch, then back at Zenos, “We may not speak again, but I want to say thank you for doing this. I know it wasn’t anything you expected.”

  “That is a great understatement, Walker. But I’ll do my job.” Nodding at Hades and Osiris, Zenos walked toward the glowing arch. As he grew closer, the glow surrounding it seemed to bleed toward the man who was once just a part. The white light grew brighter and brighter as he approached, and then, with a flash, he was gone. Walker got a notification and smiled after looking at it for a moment.

  “Okay, one down. Now, in order for you both to enter, you can’t have Icons. Sadly, it was something noted in the system. That means we’ll have to go back to Symphony, get your tasks done, violate your souls, seed you, then fix em. Understand?”

  “What?” Hades said as Osiris gave a brief nod, accepting his fate.

  “Look, it’s not a big deal. We’re going to get your tasks out of the way in an easy fashion, your souls gonna get all mad, I seed yah, use this thing called Enhancement, tie you to the Immortal strand, and bam. You’re good as new!” He noticed Hades still looking confused, so he quickly added, “It’s easy.”

  Hades had already entered, leaving Osiris standing a healthy distance away from the arch, Walker by his side. The glowing pearl of immortality embedded deep into the Primigenial’s chest pulsed faintly in accord with a similar pulse from the arch. According to the Greek god of the underworld, the process was rather painful, but none of that showed on Osiris’s face. The Egyptian Primigenial looked at Walker and spoke in an unexpectedly soft and inviting voice.

  “Thank you for doing this. It feels…cleaner than my last domain.”

  Walker smiled, “you’re welcome.”

  As the Primigenial began to step toward the arch, Walker turned on his newly upgraded Soul Vision again. He’d done it when Hades had crossed, too, though he still didn’t understand what he was seeing.

  The glow around the arch shimmered the closer Osiris moved towards it. As he’d seen before, the glow wasn’t just a nimbus of power. Within it, Walker's enhanced eyes found a series of words and numbers coruscating in a fast-flowing series. While his translator had kicked in, telling him what they meant, he had trouble putting them to words, as if matters of the soul weren’t meant to be written down.

  As Osiris walked toward fulfilling his task and the true beginning of the rest of his life, Walker also looked at their soul. It was clean, unlike the scarred and angry soul of Hades, pitted and struck by time’s bitterness. No, Osiris’s soul emitted an unbroken purity to Walker’s eyes, as if no matter how much trauma and heartache struck him, he would always come out the other side better. Renewed. Baptized in understanding.

  Walker shook his head, perplexed by how the Primigenial had lived such a life without an inkling of how he would get to the same place. Osiris paused, looking back at him with another brief smile and a wave. Walker’s eyes found the arch powering up as the words and numbers hidden within the glow latched onto the god of the afterlife. He watched as they flowed into the soul of Osiris, adding its writing to his and creating what seemed like nothing less than a divine canvas, and then he disappeared.

  Walker waved once, the motion slow as his hand briefly blocked his vision. That’s when he noticed his own soul for the first time, and the long dark line inscribed into it.

  He shivered.

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