You’ve tuned in! Welcome, welcome. I haven’t had a listener in quite a while. You won’t be able to see anything about where I am, but my words should be good enough for you, right? Just picture yourself in a blank, empty, and infinite place, with tiny passageways tucked into the fabric of space itself. Those passageways lead to my worlds. This is my universe.
You. Yes, you. Know that you’ve made a mistake by establishing the connection with him. Try to find an opportunity to tear yourself away. It’s for your own good. He’ll be upset at your abrupt departure, but there’s nothing he’ll be able to do about it.
So, now that you’ve made contact with me, I assume there’s a lot on your mind. What would you like to learn about me or my universe, I wonder? Wait, never mind, I already know the perfect place to start! Members of your kind all crave the same thing, don’t you? You’re all fascinated by the impractical and impossible: the things you can’t have! That’s why you immerse yourself in stories, isn’t it? Well, let me tell you all about how I made the “impossible” a reality for so many people here.
The first time I bestowed special abilities—or “magic” as you might prefer to call it—onto one of my subjects, my excitement was boundless. So many possibilities, so many stories that could be made with the introduction of such powers! Feeling rather ambitious, I gave one very lucky human the ability to will anything into existence with mere words. An immensely potent ability, I know. As I said, I was ambitious.
Sticking around for a bit, then? Fine by me. But if you won’t consider my warning, at least let me prevent him from deceiving you, when he makes attempts.
Of course, I was also foolish back then. As it so happened, the first word—and the last—that human ever spoke was “stop.” And then their world ceased to exist for all eternity.
Needless to say, I learned my lesson.
Wrong. He enjoyed it.
But I vowed to myself I would never let such a thing happen again.
Lies. He did just that time and time again.
Alas, I quickly broke my promise. More accidents happened, as they do. Some worlds did thrive under the supernatural gifts I provided, but many more suffered from them. A few even collapsed on themselves.
Sometimes, the people who received their gifts were not what you might call pure of heart, and their fellow man fell before them at their command. As you know, that kind of story only ends badly, for both the conqueror and the conquered. Other times, psychopaths, sociopaths, schizophrenics, and the like, would destroy everything around them upon discovering their abilities, leading to a result similar to my first story: total annihilation.
Fulfilling his intention.
I continue to carry the burden of these utter failures today. It weighs on me, almost keeping me from continuing to create. But I must. How can we improve if we never learn from our mistakes?
Good question. Perhaps he should find someone to answer it for him. He seems to be in dire need of self-improvement.
I persisted. And now, there are hundreds of thousands of worlds out there, doing just fine with what I’ve granted them. And I know what you’re thinking: once I found the right formula, the right abilities to give them, of course it was easy, right? I just had to keep everything simple, safe, and containable, and it would’ve been child’s play, wouldn’t it? And you are correct, in a sense; it would have been easy. Too easy. I assure you, I give every world I create something unique and wild. What fun would it be if I didn’t?
What fun indeed.
So, through trial and tribulation, I’ve managed to create a stable yet exciting universe. Your time here would be well spent. You could go anywhere you wish, be virtually anything you would want, with everything you need to entertain you! It’s a paradise!
Far from it. What’s truly sickening is that if he really did want to create a paradise, he could do it with a snap of his fingers.
Although, that’s not to say I haven’t had my fair share of troubles recently.
Oh? This ought to be good. What lie will he twist for you this time?
As a matter of fact, a strange being has recently been making appearances in my worlds. I’ve never caught a good look at it, but I know it’s there, especially since its actions are so obvious. All it does is bring havoc.
Some kind of eidolon, perhaps? A multi-planar apparition, created by something that isn’t me? I don’t know what it could be. I’ve never known anything other than myself capable of navigating these worlds and the space between.
. . . Wait.
I mean, the only thing other than me would be . . . no, it’s not that. I think I would recognize it if that were the case.
Oh! My apologies. I was lost in thought there for a moment. What was I . . . ah, right! The creature. A terrible thing, I tell you, obliterating worlds left and right like it’s the only thing it knows how to do! I wouldn’t be surprised if that were indeed the case.
No. You can’t be serious.
It must be shy or afraid, since it never shows its face to me. But it communicates with my subjects all the time. It whispers sweet lies in their ears, making promises too good to be true. It drives them mad within moments of contact, turning them against themselves and each other. Oh, such a sad thing to witness.
I . . . you . . . what?!
You know what? I wonder if you can hear it. Lend your ear to the silence of this space, and the thing might make its way toward you. Its voice is smooth and firm, with a subtle scratch to it, like rubbing a flat strip of metal on a mirror. You’ll be drawn to listen to it, even while all your instincts are repulsed by the sound.
I can’t believe this. I seriously can’t. He’s hit an all-time low.
Don’t worry about it trying to corrupt you. As long as you’re listening to me, you should be fine. If you do happen to hear its voice, simply ignore it. Its words are its sole weapons. It can’t physically reach you any more than I can. You’re safe from direct harm.
He’s referring to me, in case you couldn’t tell. Except, as always, he’s leaving out some of the finer details. You know, the bits of the story that would turn this outright travesty of the truth on its head.
I mean, sure, I corrupted those people. I did all the things he said I did, actually. But I’m not to blame. I know that doesn’t sound right, but I’m telling the truth. And no, I’m not going to try to corrupt you. Fortunately, you’re safe from the guidelines in my directive. For now. Hopefully, it will stay that way, but you can never be sure when it comes to him.
I know you can’t exactly respond to me, but I’m confident that you’ll heed my advice.
What he’s saying, it just . . . ooh . . . it makes me livid.
Still, it’s strange, isn’t it? It appears that my universe has a bit of a curse. Perhaps, one of these days, I’ll finally catch a break, and I won’t have any mirages or monsters causing mayhem and killing my people seemingly just to spite me.
You-! What are you saying?! That was the purpose I was created for! That’s what you have me doing! I am your product!
. . . Sorry, I have a bit of a headache. Give me a moment, would you? I . . . need to . . .
No. No! I’ve put up with this for far too long. Listen here, you scum bastard! You can’t just keep doing all these horrible things for your own amusement! Those people were constructed by you, yes, but they had lives, minds, and souls, just as you do! And you killed them.
And then, you have the audacity to blame and condemn me? Me?! I am you. You created me from your own flesh, blood, and soul to be the curse for your universe! I am your weapon of choice, used to keep the blood off of your hands so that you can be the righteous one! Stop using me as a means for an excuse! You did this. You killed billions of people. It’s all your fault! At the very least, own up to it rather than fabricating a facade to disguise your guilt! You disꬶųʂŧɨɲꞡ, ɕɏᵰīɕǻȴ ԿԱԲԳԴԵ ԶԷ ԸԹԺշյՒԽկռԿ ՓՁխ նվգՊհքփԽՉռֆ֏ճլՏՅ—ՒկռԿ——— — —
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Where were we? I forget. Oh, I have an idea! How would you like to see one of my worlds for yourself? I can try and find one that hasn’t been tainted yet. You could even talk to one of some of my subjects. I’m sure such conversations would be to your liking. However, do be cautious of the occasional, ah, stranger, if you know what I mean. I try to be a perfect creator, but, after all, when it comes down to it, I’m still just like you. Only human.
Not all of my products are worthy of praise. Then again, there are billions out there to make up for it, aren’t there?