Meanwhile in our universe…..

A young Italian Black man dressed in baggy pants and a hoodie with a snapback on his head, paints a wall with a can of spray paint.

Finished he hears a siren and uses his skateboard to ride off into the night.

Thinking he’s out of reach he comes upon a convenience store being robbed by three men.

Knowing shit is about to go down, he hides in an alleyway to wait it out.

Up behind him comes a man with a revolver and the end is pressed up against the back of his head.

“Stay still or ya dead boi.”

“Will?”

Will, “Jay?”

Jay feels the hand pulling on his wallet in his back pocket stop.

Will, “Jay is that you?”

Jay, “Tsk, ya man it’s me what the fuck you got a gun pointed at me for man.”

Will lowers the gun and Jay turns around to face him.

Jay turns around to see Will shivering the gun still pointed at him only slightly lowered.

Jay, “Will, what are you doing?

Are you on crack again?”

Will, “Oh come on man you know it ain’t like that, I just…

I just need some money you know.”

Jay reaches for the gun and grabs it.

Jay, “Will give me the gun. You don”

“BANG!!!”

Will’s finger on the trigger, and a bullet hole in Jay’s lung bleeding out.

Jay falls to the ground on his back, each breath slow and heavy as he slowly drowns in his own blood.

Jay gurgling tries to speak managing a few words, “Will…. Why? ….I….. thought…… we…. was… ……broth….”

Letting out a final weak breath Jay dies.

.................................................................................................................................................................

Jay, “HUAHHHHHHHHH!! Huahhh Huahhh Huahhhhhhhh.”

Jay’s spirit sits up out of his body and takes a sharp inhale of breath followed by him trying to catch his breath.

Standing up out of his dead body Jay stumbles about before taking a long look at Will who is shuffling through his dead body’s pockets looking for his wallet.

Jay yells not that Will can hear him, “What the hell man, come on.

What the FUCK!!!

Jesus Christ man.

GOD DAMN IT!!!”

Swearing and cursing throwing his arms about, and attempting to punch the alley wall, suddenly a small black hole the size of a ping pong ball opens up next to him.

It quickly swallows up Jay like mist before closing, everything else completely untouched and unharmed.

………………………………………………………………………………

It's dark I can’t see anything and it feels like I’m being stretched thin, but I don’t feel any pain strangely, then suddenly it’s bright.

I’m falling toward a massive planet that seems to be surrounded by some type of river of fire leading to a mini star above it.

I can’t see the bottom half of the planet, but it feels like I’m starting to get sucked into the river of fire.

Then suddenly I feel like I’m pulled faster than I can tell what’s happening.

I’m in a chair.

I look around at the solid black room that looks like obsidian, and stand up to see a panoramic window behind me looking out at the weird-ass, but surprisingly cool planet.

I walk towards the window and reach out to touch it.

“Ope don’t touch that.”

My hand stops just inches away almost like instinct.

“It’s really not stable this whole room was pulled together rather half hazardly.

Touching that window might cause it to break and then it’s off into the void toward Origin once again.”

Jay retracts his hand from the window turning around to see a man in a black cloak over a semi medieval looking black and white suit.

The man has dark chocolate skin, strange narrow elf ears, glowing blue dread locks, a few dreadlocks glowing gold, and glowing blue irises that seem to swirl like deep blue whirlpools.

Jay, “Who are you?”

“I am Ethereal, and you might be?”

Jay, “Jay…

What happened I was back on Earth then suddenly I’m getting sucked through some weird-ass funnel and I’m falling towards a planet surrounded by a river of fire?”

Ethereal, “Hmm, sounds like a wormhole, the rift must have caused dimensional instability, I’ll have to let Nexus know.

As for the whole falling part, you were getting sucked into the Star River it’s used as a light and heat source but also a reincarnation system.

If you had gotten sucked in you would have immediately been reborn into the nearest available body, with all your memories.

However usually the Star River will burn everything away but the base spirit, including memories.

You Jay, however, seem to be of much, much higher quality.”

Jay, “Higher quality?”

Ethereal, “Yes, yes no matter how I look at it you are simply better than anything I’ve ever made, your quality is amazing.

Yes, yes I’m sure of it now, unlike the spirits I create your spirit, is Immortal.”

Jay, “Immortal?

What do you mean my spirit, is immortal, and what do you mean by you make spirits, what exactly are you.”

Ethereal, “Jay when I say your spirit is immortal, I mean it cannot be harmed it cannot die, and it cannot age or decay.

As for who I am, I am the one who created this world before you.

This body is simply an incarnation.”

Jay, “You mean a god?”

Ethereal, “No, no not a god, although I may be worshipped as such by my creations, I am most certainly not a god.

No.

God’s are limitless, God’s are absolute, and all-powerful.

Gods can be neither hurt nor killed.

However I have limits, I am not absolute at all.

I can only create from existing matter and energy.

Last but not least I can be hurt and killed.

It’s just very difficult for beings that are less powerful.

I am a Primogenitor, I’m someone who came before the others in this portion of the void and took pieces of myself to create them.”

Jay, “Ok?”

Ethereal, “Either way Jay, I brought you up here as you are the first soul similar to myself, to come into this universe, and as such, I would like to offer you an opportunity.

How would you like a custom body to reincarnate into?”