Daemon just stood there, studying the man. He was about a head taller than Daemon and had of course 2 horns on his head. But other than those horns, he seemed like a normal human being. Daemon knew he wasn’t. Apart from his instinct telling him to run as far away as he could, it was the eyes that really gave it away. Eyes that seemed to see everything and were now looking at Daemon as one would look at an ant. Wondering how it got into your house. Wondering if there are more you need to kill.

They both stood there, studying each other. Finally, it was the horned man who was the first to speak. “Xirang tyïll, frar toor nyam. Aschty to nqwar?”. Looking at Daemon’s confused face, he seemed to think for a moment. After a few tense moments, he spoke once more.

“Welcome wanderer, welcome to my temple. May I know your name?”. He said, speaking with a soft voice. Something seemed off to Daemon. The words reaching his ears and the movement his mouth made didn’t seem to match. Like watching a video where the audio is delayed. Once you notice it, you keep seeing it.

Daemon didn’t know what to do. He was clearly out of his depth here, not knowing where he was or what had happened. And this man in front of him seemed like an excellent place to start asking some questions. But on the other hand, could he trust this man. He hadn’t seen anyone else in the building and he didn’t want to spend any more time wandering these seemingly endless halls. Making a decision, he answered. “My name is Daemon, may I know yours?”.

“Daemon you say, what a peculiar name for a human.” The man answered. “As for me, I am known by many names. Every culture has a different name for me. Tell me human, where are you from? And more importantly, how does one Untouched find themselves here?”. He added, seemingly too stuck in his thoughts to give a definitive answer. “I come from a city just north of…”. Daemon trailed off, seeing the man appear right in front of him. “How did you do that?”. He exclaimed, taking a step back. The man, seeming slightly annoyed by Daemon doing so, clicked his fingers.

Suddenly, Daemon felt like he was back in his dreams. Panicked, he tried to move but once more couldn’t. This time around, scenes were playing in front of him way faster than he could follow them. He recognized glimpses, scenes from his own life but also scenes he saw on tv, thoughts, and fantasies he had. The first time he had walked, Christmases with the family, birthdays, the World War II documentary he watched, books he read, papers he had studied. All of his deepest fears and all of his greatest desires. The last thing he saw, was two piercing blue eyes.

When Daemon opened his eyes again, he was staring at the high ceiling of the main room where he had fainted. Groggily shaking his head, the man stood in the same place, seeming lost in thought. Taking this moment, Daemon studied him more closely. He seemed to be in his early forties, in good shape with not a hard visible on his entire body. Apart from the toga, the only other thing he wore was a ring with a dark gemstone on his ring finger of his right hand. The man noticed Daemon was awake. He seemed to think for another moment before the two of them appeared in a library of sorts. Long corridors lined with enormous bookcases fading into the darkness, where the light of the lit fireplace couldn’t reach them. Daemon was sitting in a comfortable chair, opposite of the man. On a table next to them, lay an open book. Daemon craned his neck trying to see what was on the open pages, but they were empty. Turning his attention back to the man, he said uncertainly “Excuse me, I still haven’t gotten your name.”

The man looked at him with a little smile on his face and answered “That’s because I don’t have an answer for you. My real name is something you wouldn’t be able to comprehend. I am known to many, by even more different names. Untouched have no real name for me, but I guess the Creator would be closest to what I am. In your language at least.”.

“Untouched?” Daemon said. “You called me Untouched earlier. What am I Untouched by and why do I have no real name for you?” His mind was spinning about all that had happened in the last couple of hours and his mind was a mess. But the man opposite of him seemed willing to provide much-needed answers to all the questions he had. And with no alternative Daemon decided to trust him for now.

“Untouched is a term for beings that are neither Transcendent nor tied to the System. As for why you have no name for me, it’s because you are Untouched. You have never come in contact with a Transcendent. Until now that is. You can call me Adinoz.” Adinoz explained. “I know you must have questions, but so do I. I’ll answer your questions if you answer mine.”

“That seems hardly fair,” Daemon said, trying hard not to look away from Adinoz’s eyes. “I am sure I have much more questions than you do. Besides, didn’t you see all the information I have?” He was not sure what this Transcendent, whatever that was, wanted to know that he didn’t see already. So if he was going to answer the difficult questions, he might as well get something out of it.

Adinoz laughed, the movement shaking his entire body. “Oh, how I have missed this.” He said while reaching for one of two glasses full of amber liquid now sitting on the table. “The unfiltered responses, the lack of awe and reverence. Fine, just this once I will grant your request. Since I just answered a question, I will start.”

“I know you came from an untouched planet, “ He continued, taking a drink from his glass and sighing contently. “And from what I’ve gathered your universe has just gone through its advancement. But what I don’t understand is why you are here.” He seemed to ponder his question for a few seconds, before finally asking “Why are you here?”

“How should I know, I just sort of woke up here” Daemon answered. “I have no idea where I am, how I got here, and have certainly never heard any terms you used. After my coma, the first thing that I remember is waking up on the floor in one of the rooms here. My turn.”

Daemon couldn’t get his thoughts straightened out and just wanted answers. So he asked the first thing that came to mind. “You mentioned my universe advancing. What do you mean by that and is that why I am here?” He said.

“Advancing is when a universe goes to the next step. Instead of leeching, your universe went to its final phase.” Adinoz answered. “The final phase is where a universe has to start contributing or it will be cut off. As to if that’s why you’re here, it certainly has something to do with it. When universes advance to the contributing phase, the entire population is removed from its own universe and placed into another one. Which is not here. So that begs the question, how did you get here?”

“I think it has something to do with this coma you mentioned” He mused, taking another swig of his drink. “Can you explain to me what exactly that is? I know from perusing your mind that it’s something between sleeping and death, but the details elude me ”

Before answering, he took the glass still standing on the table and took a tentative sip. His eyes widened in surprise at the taste. He took another big gulp, before answering. “That’s one way to view it, but incomplete. Coma is a sleep from which they can’t be woken up. It can have many causes but most of the time it’s some sort of damage to the body. At least, that was the case with me.”

“But of course!” Adinoz exclaimed. “Untouched means more grey area’s. No definable way to measure one’s health. I’m getting slow in my old age. But then why end up here? Why not end up wherever you and your entire universe was meant to be sent?”

“That’s too many questions.” Daemon said. “Question I don’t know the answer of anyways. What did you mean by contributing instead of leeching? And why is everyone placed in another universe?”

“I know, I know, I asked too many questions.” Adinoz said. “But do you have any idea how exciting this is? An Untouched appearing here, unsummoned. This has never happened before, but I am starting to understand.” Seemingly unable to contain his excitement, he stood up and started pacing in front of the fireplace, casting long shadows on the bookcases all around them. “If your universe indeed has just advanced, it has returned to me by now. And with you being in it, you got returned with it. I just don’t understand why you didn’t leave it with everyone else.” After his outburst, he sat back in his chair and sunk deep in thought.

Daemon tried to process all the information he got from Adinoz. He had learned that other universes were real. Everyone on the planet and possibly from other planets as well was placed in another universe and for some reason, he was now sitting across from the being that was at least in some way in control of it all. He couldn’t help but look around trying to find the camera’s recording the too real to be a fake prank. After ordering his thoughts, he got back to the matter at hand. Why was he here?

It had to have something to do with his coma. Adinoz seemed to be confused by the term and concept at first. Besides, that was the only thing that had made him stand out from the rest of Earth. But surely there had been others. The only thing he could think of was whatever his brother and Reno did somehow affected what happened. Before he could say anything, Adinoz started talking again.

“Of course, I dismissed them as dreams at first”. He said. “But they weren’t. They did something to you. Something that got you so close to death, that you were considered as such. But whatever they gave you must have improved your condition in time. And with the improvement, you couldn’t be considered just part of the universe anymore. So you were assumed a Transcendent and automatically came here when the universe was recycled. So now all we need to do is find where your people went, and return you to them.”

He picked up a small bell and rang it. Daemon couldn’t help but yelp when a gargoyle-like creature of stone appeared next to Adinoz. The gargoyle sideway glanced at Daemon, then focussed on Adinoz. “Which book do you need, oh ancient one?” He asked reverently, slightly bowing. His voice not at all raspy like Daemon expected, but more an even, monotone sound.

Adinoz procured a small copper key from his neck and handed it to the gargoyle. The key seemed to vibrate as soon as the gargoyle took it. A moment later a heavy book appeared in the gargoyle’s hand. As soon as he opened it, the pages started moving faster than Daemon could follow. When they slowed down, they opened on a page with a small drawing of Earth in the top right. Adinoz took the book and studied it intently.

The longer he studied, the deeper his frown became. After what seemed like an eternity, he looked up at Daemon with a somber face. “This is going to be harder than I thought.” He said. “Humans from Earth didn’t do well on the Index. As a result of their rating, they have been integrated across multiple planets in their new universe. 4 years ago.”