Chapter 36：The deal that will never end

James opened his eyes and was almost blinded by the bright, white room. There were people and creatures scattered around sitting on white chairs or reading books in what seemed like an infinite amount of languages. In the corner of the room was a small desk like one in a pharmacy where you'd check in. James walked up to it and was greeted by what seemed to be a computer screen that flicked through thousands of different faces from thousands of different races. It finally stopped on a woman with black hair tied up in a bun.

"Welcome to purgatory, how can I help?" asked the woman. James felt his legs go suddenly weak.

Purgatory? He was dead?

Then it hit him. He remembered Jack piercing through his heart with his scythe and the world going dark. James slammed on the desk in rage and startled some of those in the area.

"Tell me where Okubi is, NOW!" demanded James. The woman froze for a bit and seemed to be processing the request. The screen refreshed and the woman smiled.

"Please go through the door on the right. Have a nice eternity!" said the woman gleefully. James looked to his right and saw a white, painted door with a bronze handle. He walked over to it, twisted the handle, and walked through.

A breeze of fresh air weaved through James' hair and he looked across the courtyard in front of him. There were white, marble corridors leading left, right, and forward with a simple pyramid fountain in the middle. James walked up to the fountain and looked into the water and at his reflection. Above his head was a halo but the left side was bright and the right side was dim and crumbling. Trying to feel it, James reached up but his right hand but it seemed to pass right through without any resistance as if it wasn't even there. James froze again. He brought his hand down and in front of himself. It had returned. It was no longer blue energy but now real flesh that he could touch and feel. He turned around on the spot and was struck in the face with a fist that knocked him out.

"Are you sure you should use ... THAT form in his presence? It could prove to disastrous in the future." said a female voice.

"Actually, this is the only time he'll witness this form. I checked the timeline before choosing." said another voice. James slowly opened his eyes and adjusted to the dim light. He shifted to the right and slowly tipped until he fell onto the floor. The chair he had been placed in clattered to the floor as someone rushed over and picked James up. It was a woman with long, dark green hair, yellow eyes and a dress made out of leaves, vines, and moss. James found his footing and looked around at the two others in the room. One was another woman with long yellow hair, blue eyes, and wore a judge's robe with a utility belt of scrolls, hammers, and glasses while the other was what appeared to be a white dove with a red chest and lines of blue down it's back and wings.

"Who are you people?" asked James. The woman with green hair was quick to reply.

"My name is Gaia, goddess of life and nature. This woman is Rawley, goddess of judgement, and this ... bird is our creator, the omni-god." said Gaia.

"The all powerful omni-god is a bird!?" said James with great surprise in his voice.

"Yes I am. I just chose this form so I don't affect the timeline. Which is why we brought you here." said the omni-god. The omni-god proceeded to explain how Okubi had been using Jack to take people's abilities for himself so he could defeat the current omni-god and become the new one. His previous plan had failed because Cynthinia had meddled with the timeline and stopped Josie from stealing all the abilities from the crystal.

"So what do you want me to do? I'm dead, remember. Otherwise I wouldn't be here. And I can't even damage Jack in the slightest so how would I be able to win against Okubi?!" said James. He looked down at the floor as a single tear fell to the ground. "I failed and now the whole universe is going to be ruled by an evil maniac because I lost control. I couldn't even protect Jack and I was just metres away from him. How am I supposed to save a universe?" The omni-god hopped over to James.

"We can help. We can make a deal with you but the price is great. We can give you unlimited time in the mortal realm ... immortality ... and your power will grow even further than before. However, you'll need to pay your time here before going back and when you do go back your emotions and most of your memories will perish. You'll lose your humanity. Are you willing to lose your human self to become something greater?" asked the omni-god.

"Why me? Why did this happen to me?! I could be at home with my mother right now but instead she doesn't even know who I am or that I even exist! All because you can't solve your own problems!" yelled James.

Rawley slammed a hammer into the wall.

"You don't dare talk to the omni-god that way. Even if he's your-" Rawley's mouth was quickly covered by the omni-gods wing. James didn't even realise they'd moved. The omni-god dropped to the floor and landed on their feet.

"I understand your anger James, but I'm not in control of the timeline. No one is. Our universe is one in an infinite amount. You just got unlucky with your events. We both did. My position as omni-god is near it's end and my powers are depleting. Your the only one with enough power to rival Okubi's at this stage. Maybe a few centuries ago I could've snapped my fingers and Okubi would cease to exist but now I cannot. Please James. You only need to wait six months here and then you can be reunited with your friends."