10-05-2015, 10:54 AM
The red sun glared at her in her vision, in her mind. She felt its warmth, its hate. It was the center of her universe; it was her father and her mother. It watched her from the skies of the desert, unblinking, uncaring, unending but for the bitter cold of the night.
“My name is Omni,” the voice said, the silence of death suddenly split. She opened her eyes, finding only a void of blackness around her, a glowing white being grinning at her.
Blinking hard, the bandit slowly brought her hands up in front of her face. They were clean, none of the blood of the fight staining them. “Omni? Seriously? Am I dead?” she asked, her feeble voice echoing into the expanse. “Why... why am I still-”
“This is not the world you know,” the god-like being interrupted her. “This is the Omniverse.”
Perplexed, the bandit’s eyebrows cinched and she looked back and forth. “I… I know what the Omniverse is. I’m from the Omniverse. I’m a native. I mean, I’ve never been exactly here, but-“
“You interest me, so I have made you part of it,” Omni continued, seemingly uninterested or unable to hear her. The woman simply stared at the omniscient being, confusion overtaking her desire to speak.
Omni’s grinning mouth gabbed on, heedless of anything but her presence. “The Omniverse is a place that reflects the wishes of those who are part of it. But! There are rules. I will explain them only once, so listen carefully.”
“Like, are there rules I don’t know yet?” she snapped. “Omni, I don’t think you’re listening to me, but like, seriously, what the fuck is going on?”
The being created shimmering, scintillating sphere of prismatic colors and offered it to the bandit, who reluctantly took it from his hand with a single eyebrow up incredulously. “This is Omnilium.”
The bandit blinked hard. “Motherfucker I know what Omnilium is.”
“It’s what ties the Omniverse together. Without it, you are nothing. With it, anything you desire can be yours.” Finally, the creature said something of interest to her.
Her heart jumped when the possibility fell upon her, and she couldn’t help but to notice her hands were trembling. “Does that mea-“
“But you will need more than this. If you desire it enough, you will find it. You will find that using it comes naturally. Just think of what you desire most.”
A tear welled up in her eye as she tried to force back the wave of emotion that crashed into and over her. “Am I a Prime?” she sobbed, her voice thick. Her face tingled, her heart throbbed.
“You will not be alone in the Omniverse. There are others. Of course, they, too desire Omnilium.”
It felt like her ribs were twisting into themselves, and she clutched at them as she listened with no more witty comebacks to spit back in her savior’s face.
”Do not fear death. For as long as you interest me, you will be reborn.”
With every sentence, Omni released her from another fear, lifted the weight of anger and bitter resentment that she had held towards every Prime she had ever met.
Her body curled into itself as she took choppy, labored gulps of air, streams tumbling from her eyes and into the void around her. Heavy, weighted sobs choked her, her hair tumbling around her as she fell to her knees. She gasped, finally able to take a breath and fill her lungs. Looking up to the creature, the diety, the woman shook her head. “Why?” she asked, “Why me?”
“That’s all you need to know right now. You’ll figure out the rest soon enough. I’ll be watching … and waiting.”
The grinning god smiled gazed down upon her without eyes, his radiance as bright as the sun.
She stared up at him, face wet and breathless.
“Thank you.”
The blackness crashed down as Omni’s brilliance exploded outwards in every direction, whiteness washing out until it became every horizon around her. It was almost impossible to discern the floor from the sky, though she questioned if there truly were such distinctions where she now sat. The dull silence was slowly filled with the sound of water falling into a pool, a gentle mist falling down upon her naked back.
She sat there for a moment, naked and alone amid the field of white, and breathed. When she had the courage, she closed her eyes, cleared her thoughts, and focused. When she was finished, she opened her eyes and stood.
Sand tumbled off of her stained armor and clothing, her mind unable to visualize her clothing without a dense layer of sand. She flexed her hands, the metal of her gauntlets familiar, almost strangely so. She looked down, seeing the small hole in the chest of the white shirt she wore, a long, dark-red stain flowing down from around it. She couldn’t help but smile.
She reached down into her pocket and found a circular, flat tin and pulled it free. Slowly, carefully, she twisted the worn edges of the lid, revealing a thick white grease paint beneath it. Another broad smile washed over her features as she scooped up a thick dollop. She smeared the grease over her face with a few practiced strokes, and once again a bleach-white skull was painted over her features.
Closing and replacing the tin, she took a deep breath and exhaled, her nerves slowly calming themselves. She turned around, only then allowing her curiosity to take over. The rushing water had been falling from the spout of a tall fountain that was situated at the peak of a tall, white statue. A woman in some sort of robes looked up to the sky woefully, her hands bought up to her face, but not quite touching it. The water poured from her eyes and the folds of her robes, lines of green-tinted rust tracing the lines of her tears. Around her feet at the base of the fountain, majestic golden tiles were patterned in complex geometric shapes, a few glimmering coins settled in the pool atop the tiles.
Holding her hand out, the bandit materialized a small glimmering sphere of omnilium. She concentrated and the form flattened out, and its glimmering light slowly died down as it solidified. She grasped the large half-dollar with her index finger and thumb, tilting it back and forth.
She looked back to the weeping woman, wondering who she was or what stories she had. In the end, she was just another woman without a name. The bandit repositioned the half-dollar on her thumb, flicked the coin and watched it and it flip in a tall arc before plunking into the basin, swooping back and forth until it settled.
“My name is Omni,” the voice said, the silence of death suddenly split. She opened her eyes, finding only a void of blackness around her, a glowing white being grinning at her.
Blinking hard, the bandit slowly brought her hands up in front of her face. They were clean, none of the blood of the fight staining them. “Omni? Seriously? Am I dead?” she asked, her feeble voice echoing into the expanse. “Why... why am I still-”
“This is not the world you know,” the god-like being interrupted her. “This is the Omniverse.”
Perplexed, the bandit’s eyebrows cinched and she looked back and forth. “I… I know what the Omniverse is. I’m from the Omniverse. I’m a native. I mean, I’ve never been exactly here, but-“
“You interest me, so I have made you part of it,” Omni continued, seemingly uninterested or unable to hear her. The woman simply stared at the omniscient being, confusion overtaking her desire to speak.
Omni’s grinning mouth gabbed on, heedless of anything but her presence. “The Omniverse is a place that reflects the wishes of those who are part of it. But! There are rules. I will explain them only once, so listen carefully.”
“Like, are there rules I don’t know yet?” she snapped. “Omni, I don’t think you’re listening to me, but like, seriously, what the fuck is going on?”
The being created shimmering, scintillating sphere of prismatic colors and offered it to the bandit, who reluctantly took it from his hand with a single eyebrow up incredulously. “This is Omnilium.”
The bandit blinked hard. “Motherfucker I know what Omnilium is.”
“It’s what ties the Omniverse together. Without it, you are nothing. With it, anything you desire can be yours.” Finally, the creature said something of interest to her.
Her heart jumped when the possibility fell upon her, and she couldn’t help but to notice her hands were trembling. “Does that mea-“
“But you will need more than this. If you desire it enough, you will find it. You will find that using it comes naturally. Just think of what you desire most.”
A tear welled up in her eye as she tried to force back the wave of emotion that crashed into and over her. “Am I a Prime?” she sobbed, her voice thick. Her face tingled, her heart throbbed.
“You will not be alone in the Omniverse. There are others. Of course, they, too desire Omnilium.”
It felt like her ribs were twisting into themselves, and she clutched at them as she listened with no more witty comebacks to spit back in her savior’s face.
”Do not fear death. For as long as you interest me, you will be reborn.”
With every sentence, Omni released her from another fear, lifted the weight of anger and bitter resentment that she had held towards every Prime she had ever met.
Her body curled into itself as she took choppy, labored gulps of air, streams tumbling from her eyes and into the void around her. Heavy, weighted sobs choked her, her hair tumbling around her as she fell to her knees. She gasped, finally able to take a breath and fill her lungs. Looking up to the creature, the diety, the woman shook her head. “Why?” she asked, “Why me?”
“That’s all you need to know right now. You’ll figure out the rest soon enough. I’ll be watching … and waiting.”
The grinning god smiled gazed down upon her without eyes, his radiance as bright as the sun.
She stared up at him, face wet and breathless.
“Thank you.”
The blackness crashed down as Omni’s brilliance exploded outwards in every direction, whiteness washing out until it became every horizon around her. It was almost impossible to discern the floor from the sky, though she questioned if there truly were such distinctions where she now sat. The dull silence was slowly filled with the sound of water falling into a pool, a gentle mist falling down upon her naked back.
She sat there for a moment, naked and alone amid the field of white, and breathed. When she had the courage, she closed her eyes, cleared her thoughts, and focused. When she was finished, she opened her eyes and stood.
Sand tumbled off of her stained armor and clothing, her mind unable to visualize her clothing without a dense layer of sand. She flexed her hands, the metal of her gauntlets familiar, almost strangely so. She looked down, seeing the small hole in the chest of the white shirt she wore, a long, dark-red stain flowing down from around it. She couldn’t help but smile.
She reached down into her pocket and found a circular, flat tin and pulled it free. Slowly, carefully, she twisted the worn edges of the lid, revealing a thick white grease paint beneath it. Another broad smile washed over her features as she scooped up a thick dollop. She smeared the grease over her face with a few practiced strokes, and once again a bleach-white skull was painted over her features.
Closing and replacing the tin, she took a deep breath and exhaled, her nerves slowly calming themselves. She turned around, only then allowing her curiosity to take over. The rushing water had been falling from the spout of a tall fountain that was situated at the peak of a tall, white statue. A woman in some sort of robes looked up to the sky woefully, her hands bought up to her face, but not quite touching it. The water poured from her eyes and the folds of her robes, lines of green-tinted rust tracing the lines of her tears. Around her feet at the base of the fountain, majestic golden tiles were patterned in complex geometric shapes, a few glimmering coins settled in the pool atop the tiles.
Holding her hand out, the bandit materialized a small glimmering sphere of omnilium. She concentrated and the form flattened out, and its glimmering light slowly died down as it solidified. She grasped the large half-dollar with her index finger and thumb, tilting it back and forth.
She looked back to the weeping woman, wondering who she was or what stories she had. In the end, she was just another woman without a name. The bandit repositioned the half-dollar on her thumb, flicked the coin and watched it and it flip in a tall arc before plunking into the basin, swooping back and forth until it settled.