Not wanting to anger it. Jackson slips in the booth.
The Void. "I'm so excited that you made it, as you can tell. Well, you are probably thinking? Was it a nightmare, dreams?"
Nope
The whole time, everything there, the whole thing was real.
Just like you and me.
As I lean over next to the void, jack asks him,"who are you?
He looks at me with a raised eyebrow and smiles.
Don't worry I won't lie to you this time.
I have gone by many names.
The smiling shadow, the voided one, forsaken creature, the broker, holder of the word, striker of deals, admin error. Chuckles thats has a funny story behind it.
Blah blah blah, so on and so forth.
You know titles? They go on forever, especially when you live as long as I have, but me you jack can just call me.
Bob.
Jack looks with a raise eyebrow. With the look of inscrutability... Like are you serious?
No really, it's Bob now.
That's right, it's a little bit of an acronym. Some mortals use, I love it so much.
Call me Bob. It stands for buyer of beings or if you want it more fancy, Beyond Omniscient Barginer. I think I'll use that for quite a while.
Jack,"Well, I guess that makes sense."
Bob, "This is what l like about you, such a hard working fella and so well put together. So many various things about you that truly make you such a great investment.
So acceptable of the supernatural.
Everyone else just haves breakdowns, or they start screaming,
oh no let me go, oh I now have ultimate power, ah what the fuck is going on.
Over and over again.
"Hold on you said you invested in me? How."
Jack hand moves to his chest when he remembers, the seed that being planted in there.
Ah, I think you already know how.
'Sigh'
Don't worry I will still explain.
You see since the moment we made that deal, I sent you into training mode you can say.
Eyebrow twitching. Jack's mind,"training mode really. What I'm I, an npc now"
Bob, "Your body was the first to go. You probably haven't notice yet, but you actually don't possess a corporeal form yet."
Yet?
Yes your body is not important right now. Jack,"how the hell is it not important." As I was saying. Your unique station will allow you to take different forms.
Explain please.
Yes yes, just be quiet and I'll cover that.
Sorry....
Anyways, it's more complicated so I'll actually start somewhere else and we will come back to that.
Bob sips on his drink to parch his throat.
Hhmm that's good. So your body is no more and I have 'stress tested' your soul. You were quite receptacle to the change.
Some of you was lost during the process, but do to both of our efforts. Your soul has learned to channel, absorb, and use energy not foreign to yourself.
Really, that sound handy.
You have no idea the ability alone is very coveted by other entities. Myself is one of the few that can perform many acts with it. A perfect example was how we meet.
How we meet?
Yes, as you know their was nothing around you when you entered limbo.
This is because I put up a barrier. To keep out the other celestial and demonic beings from collecting your soul.
You see most beings collect souls for various reasons.
Personally, I believe they are quite wasteful.
You see most entities either eat the spirits for energy. Or in a special case, they use them as avatars to invade different worlds or realities.
The rest just get tossed into the void or if, do to an aspect of their being may take them into their realm.
Which most mortals refer to as heaven or hell. Both used for their own respective purposes.
Each of these actions costs varies. Depending on their actions and, their collection.
Collection? Just hearing that gave me a strange feeling.
Yes, most do spirits, artifacts, and others use what we call programs for sale. Which most reincarnation call the system.
A very popular way to rapidly grow and claim the souls of their choice of mortals. Risky because some have the potential to surpass and consume their entities proprietor.
In a sad tone. "However this usually always turn to duel evisceration."
That is why I don't use it in particular anymore.
Anymore? Are you telling me you made deals this way.
Indeed. Although I used to be in the top for my station. I have become a lower-mid class version now.
Long story short. In an angry tone. Was a group of my own vassels both ungrateful and power hungry, tried to assimilate me by taking my Collection and consume my other "Champions" I have gather throughout my eons of existence.
Although they were destroyed and I survived, my vast collection and power has been lost and almost all of my realm taken by other beings.
I still got away with my knowledge, and few abilities I originally had. Some rare objects that were almost impossible to collect even in my prime.
Glances down at Jackson heart.
Why are you telling me this, aren't you afraid I will betray you later.
No, because unlike before I now vet souls now, and I eat sparingly.
Some of my former colleagues are still upset about me from how I acted before. I used to poach from their roster of spirits. Chuckles
Anyways, the object in your chest was a mutated seed of yggdrasil thats been crossed with abstract energy of unknown origins that even I couldn't find out about. Then watered by my very essence. I believe you were conscious during this procedure according to your reactions.
Yes, I was. Can you tell me what it does or is, in more detail please.
For most of what it did to you. Is that 'WE' are now connected.
Before you ask I'll explain, again.
We're in a special predicament.
Since my realm was destroyed i absorbed what was left back into myself. That dimensional space energy feed.
Transferring my domains of abilities to you as fragments, and a branch of the sprout planets manifested as this cafe.
Shocked, jack begins to examine his surroundings with a sharp eye.
"I created this? But how?"
Bob's eyebrow twitching,"You know even though you are pretty good at listening and keeping quiet I'm starting to get annoyed. Just let me say everything and you can enjoy the fun available okay.
Jez, I know I sound like a monologing evil villain, but come on brat"
Jack flushed and nervous,"sorry sorry, just a natural response. Please proceed"
Bob exasperated, Okay where was I. Oh Yes, so your very being has skipped some levels in existence.
But, you can't handle the strain inwardly jack.
So, thanks do to myself, I mod you with our bond.
You now have a cafe building, which is built with automatic systems and updates. It will grow, buy, sell, move, adapt all by itself.
Although it's mainly food right now. You can change it into a hotel, mall, diner, etc.
Like a tardis from your mortal shows. It's bigger inside.
Outside is a two story store. Inside we are roughly 13 stories. All filled with different accommodations.
Training rooms, storage areas, mostly for resources.
A like the French.
The piece de resistance.
Hotel style rooms for your recruits you bind.
Jack shocked,"woah, that's crazy. Hold up, what do you mean by bind?"
Simple, like I said. We are connected. Including my abilities such as deal making.
This ability in particular stends from your main job or task, however you you like it. That I've given you.
Which is?
World collecting and exploring my boy!
My own little lucifer, going out making deals and having fun.
Or you can be boring and just live there.
Don't believe you have complete free will now. You are mainly connected to this here building.
Follow me.
As I stand up and follow Bob I try my best to process everything, with potential outcomes. Remember my time listening to various stories. A vage idea crosses his mind on what he can possibly do. As the realization dawns upon him, a mad grin with visual excitement shows in his entire form.
I see your starting to understand. Since you weren't paying to much attention we are back on the 2 floor. The second floor only has 1 door. As it opens a flash of bright light envelopes us. As jacks eyes adjusts, he sees a pure white room perfectly smooth.
This is your main controls, where all the magic happens. From here time is frozen and Manuel mods can be made. Most of your journeys will start here. Right now everything is locked out or minimal.
Jack confessed asks,"thats cool and all but their is nothing here, how do I control or even use anything here?"
The room will change depending on the power level and or the desire of what you want to do here my boy.
*cough, cough* painfully loud
Jack shocked,"Bob! What's wrong with you."
Just the cost, what you don't think all of this costed me much. *sweating hard* I done think I have much more time. I'll give a quick breakdown.
Building is big and adaptive, although it can't follow you. You and it can jumps worlds. Jumping takes energy that energy. *cough* That energy will make a anchor, a save point if you will to that world. Long you are their the more power will be transferred. Siphoning into multiple factors.
After a certain amount of time, and various on location. You can connect to that dimensions existence. After the connection is made you can sell randomly selected items through the store. All items owned or in hand upon death in that would will be pulled back with you as trophies. This includes your deals, deals stuck will marks souls for havest or collection. Harvested souls will fuel everything and collections will bring them back as staff under your control. Cough cough.
As you can imagine, this is quite the ability. I believe you will have a lot of fun with this. Wink wink
Every world you travel to will be at random times and will have a random body for now. Every world is also connected to its various mutliverses. So dont trust to much of your worlds knowledge.
A sparkling shines in Bob's eyes. Oh yes, before I forget. You can cross other Travellers, the chosen champions of my colleagues. Feel free to poach those fuckers souls. Their unique energy is roughly a 50x multiplier. We will need this in the future.
Im going to be locked in my own room healing, a quarter of the energy will be given to muh. I believe in you and it's harder to keep this form going. You seem to gather the gist of everything, and I feel like I said enough. Tah tah.
A flash of purple and Bob's body was gone leaving me alone. Excited jack prepares for what's next.
Alright let's see what we can do here.