—— ? ——

  Hours drifted by.

  Simon learned as much as you could from the strange god avatar, flame teardrop thing.

  Glint would answer most questions about what Simon assumed was general information. We focused the main discussion points on what the system was about to do or was currently doing.

  As far as Simon could tell, this strange System was currently absorbing and transforming Earth. The exact methods or details seemed to be something Glint wasn’t willing to discuss. But the short answer was that the world would change, get larger, and be under an entirely new set of rules.

  Exactly what that would end up looking like was a complete mystery.

  For the people of Earth, they were all going to be set at the “starting” point. Everyone was getting a rework according to what the System deemed as acceptable. For the people under this system, everyone got sent to this start. There were some differences between realms, but the vast majority of system-controlled realms were put at roughly the same level to start.

  Simon had first thought Glint meant metaphorically, but was corrected that it was completely literal.

  Levels, stats, and skills. Every nerd’s wildest fantasy was rolling out into the world.

  Except this is where the system stopped being helpful.

  Glint had continually restated the Systems edict “Growth is earned”. Quantifying the world into numbers and miniature systems did not magically make everyone a godling. In the wide expanse of system-controlled space, it was just the start line.

  But that was the most that Glint would say. Everything else had to be discovered and learned on your own.

  “Glint, I’m wondering. What is the point of giving me all this time with you when all you are going to do is just lay out extremely vague general strokes of what is about to happen?” Simon asked while pinching his nose in annoyance. He was trying to understand as much as he could before this show truly got on the road. Despite this, his overly unhelpful guide still answered nothing directly.

  “I have tried to answer your questions!” Glint replied with a saddened expression.

  Simon sighed. He had hoped he was going to gain insider knowledge or at least some form of early advantage by being thorough. Instead, he just got basic information. He had nothing against that; anything was better than nothing. But it was like asking someone to describe the world outside, and they say, “There is a sky, and ground!” and that’s it.

  He had hoped he would get an example of what he could expect. Some form of guide to how the stats, levels, and skills worked. But the most detailed explanation that Glint would give was: “Stats are related to you as a person, Levels give stats and other growth, and pretty much everything is a skill.”

  Not the advantage he was hoping for. But he felt fairly calm about the ordeal. That fact was something that had been slowly creeping up and rooted in his mind. It was weird. Simon was far too calm and collected throughout this entire process. The more he thought about this while speaking with Glint, the more he believed something was wrong.

  It wasn’t normal to have your entire life as you knew it completely wiped away, and turn around and be ‘okay’.

  As Simon danced around information with Glint, this thought grew. Finally, there was a long pause in their conversation, and Simon just stared at Glint. After this time speaking, Glint had finally realized that responding to his thoughts pissed off Simon. But Simon could tell Glint was currently reading his thoughts. The blue flame's expression looked worried.

  Glint seemed to begin to try and speak, then stopped itself. This stretched on for minutes until Simon decided it was his turn to break the silence.

  “Something is being done to my mind, correct?” Simon asked coldly.

  “Your physical body is being healed and corrected to make the baseline at the starting level,” Glint responded.

  “You know what I mean,” Simon replied. That pretty much confirmed it. There was something more there. This process had been painless, and while Simon had panicked at the beginning, he had quickly adjusted to this monumental change. While he was analytical, he wasn’t Spock.

  Simon knew he should be having some form of panic attack, or complete catatonic shock, or…

  Something.

  But not a comfortable conversation with a talking flame. Even that concept was insane. He was speaking to someone who had identified themselves as an avatar of a ‘god. ’ Just the existence of deities should have sent his mind reeling for at least a time.

  But no worry had occurred. Simon had just accepted it and decided, “Oh, this makes sense,” and was okie-dokie with everything.

  It made him angry again. But even that felt muted. This was akin to being on some type of perception-altering drug.

  Oh.

  “So am I drugged, Glint?” Simon asked.

  The avatar took longer to respond than before.

  “In a way. Integration spaces have a form of mental soothing.” Glint said.

  ‘Well, wasn’t that just great?’ Simon thought to himself and Glint.

  “I’m surprised you can even tell me that,” he said back to the avatar.

  “It’s not ideal. If asked, I am instructed to let beings know this field is in effect. I promise you are safe and that there will be no long-term effects from the exposure. At least in the System mental fields.” Glint replied somberly. The joy it received from getting to answer questions vaguely had left the creature.

  Simon thought about what his next questions would be, knowing this. He was trying to get angry about this, but was it Glint’s fault? This creature was also stuck in this room and seemed to be bound to rules that it didn’t fully understand. Simon believed that Glint had good intentions based on their conversations. Why would he get angry…

  Oh, that was insidious.

  ‘It won’t let me get mad at my guide. At least not long-term, I think,’ Simon thought, but then again realized that Glint knew what he was thinking.

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  “Doesn’t the System have any belief in rights? This is now messing with my head.” Simon said out loud since there wasn’t a point in keeping his thoughts private.

  “It does. It normally doesn’t involve itself to this degree. At least, as far as I know. Obviously, you are not going to completely believe what I’m saying here, as you will probably think this is simply another manipulative step. But, in past integrations, the system tended to leave beings alone. From my understanding, integration is where it loses the highest number of sentients, so it highly controls it,” Glint said thoughtfully.

  That was surprising. Simon may or may not believe it, but it made sense. He couldn’t imagine the amount of effort it would take to maintain what was currently happening with him and what, eight plus billion beings? That was just counting Earth. Glint hadn’t answered if there were other planets in this ‘realm’.

  Still.

  Simon felt uneasy. This mind-melting could be explained, but it just felt so wrong. As every minute went by, the more Simon focused on it, the more it felt like his mind was trapped. Before he had even thought about it, there was no issue. It was like being trapped in a dark room. If you had no idea that the walls were only eight inches away, it didn’t feel like you were trapped in a small space. But the moment you felt around and touched all four walls, that’s when your mind would reel.

  Simon started rubbing his head and then looked up at Glint.

  “This whole situation is just so wrong,” he stated.

  “I can’t imagine. I was never integrated, unfortunately. The more you focus on it, the worse it will get.” Glint replied sadly.

  That was new information.

  “What are you, anyways? You say you weren’t integrated, and you are some god. But where did you come from?” Simon asked. Hopefully, this would help take his mind off the elephant in the room.

  No, Glint, that is not an invitation to reintroduce the pink elephant. Thank you.

  Glint smiled. “I was a fire elemental, although not the type you are thinking of right now. I come from a realm that has a massive swampland. It stretches for miles and miles; Some parts of it are larger than oceans on your home planet. That was where I came into being.”

  “Wait, a swamp? But you said you were a fire elemental.” Simon was confused.

  “Just don’t laugh, okay?” Glint said, sounding insecure.

  “I’ll try.”

  “The swamp of my home realm was known for magic, wonders, and dangers. In your language, it would be named ‘The Deep Weave’ or just 'The Weave’. There were entire species that would live their lives without ever leaving the swamp. One of the dangers that you can find in the swamp is noxious gases.” Glint paused and then continued, “And that is what I came from.”

  Simon couldn’t stop the thought that popped into his head.

  Glint was the god of swamp gas.

  “No?! I’m not… no, I’m not the god of swamp gas. I’m… a guide,” Glint retorted.

  “Whoa, whoa, I couldn’t help it, Glint. Look, I didn’t laugh, okay?” Simon had grinned. He couldn’t stop it. “Please continue.”

  Glint harrumphed. “People always laugh. It gets old. Yes, I am a fire elemental born from swamp gas. Natural gases are released and sometimes ignite. That was how I was born. I moved around the swamp, struggling to survive and fuel my fire. It was difficult; there are so many things in the weave that could have snuffed me out. I can’t even describe how many close calls there were, but I survived. It was these struggles that made me who I am. It was also what caused me to grow even more.”

  Glint got a far-off look and a bit of a smile.

  “I remember when my flames grew enough for me to understand the world around me. That’s when I noticed mortals trying to cross sections of the Weave. For a while, I ignored them. They had their own fire, and I would never steal from another flame’s food.

  “I didn’t even understand the difference between what they carried and what I was. But then one day, I was feeding off a pocket of fuel I had found when I saw mortals who had lost their flame. They were floundering, struggling not to be extinguished. I knew that feeling.”

  He floated slowly in thought, the flickering dimming for a moment.

  “I got closer. Those poor creatures kept falling off the path. I was scared at first. But I realized I could get close enough that they couldn’t reach me—and I could still watch them. Then they got excited and started walking toward me. I couldn’t let them fall into the deep parts of the swamp, so I led them to where I had last seen some of their fire.”

  Glint paused, then asked, “Do you know what they did?”

  “Not a clue,” Simon replied.

  “They went into their homes and came back with the fuel they’d used for their fires. I thought they were going to relight them—but they just left it there in the swamp.

  “I couldn’t let such fine fuel go to waste, so I snatched it. Why would you leave something so delicious just sitting out?”

  He gave a small flicker of indignation before continuing.

  “Days later, I came upon more mortals. I had gotten closer because I was curious, but they did it again! Who leaves such fuel just sitting there where the Weave will reclaim it?”

  “I’m going to guess they weren’t just trying to waste dried fuel?” Simon said, smiling at the cute protest.

  “Correct. But back then, thinking was still hard. I was just an elemental.”

  “I started following mortals around, making sure they weren’t wasting fuel. Over time, the Weave changed. It’s one of the peculiar phenomena of that swamp. Underneath its living plants and other organic things, it causes the pathways to be unstable and change. What I didn’t realize was that the mortals were watching how I moved. They knew I hated the deep parts of the swamp and would only hover over shallow sections.”

  “So when I went back to the homes of those mortals to check if they were still there, some of them followed me. I didn’t mind. They always left their tasty fuel behind.”

  Glint shimmered as he remembered the meals.

  “Whenever the weave shifted, and I went to their home, I noticed they would be extra forgetful. Being the smart elemental I thought I was, I believed the weave shifting must be related to that. They were also super forgetful if I brought them to some of the unmoving sections that would stay through shifts.”

  “Multiple shifts of the weave came and went, and this continued. I realized what was going on when a stone statue appeared at the stable crossroads. The mortals in that town had made it, and it was just the right shape for me to rest on.”

  The flame's body seemed to purr in happiness.

  “After that, the mortals would come find me at a resting point. In exchange for the fuel, they would point, and I would lead them in that direction. It was simple and beautiful, and I just kept growing every day.”

  Glint said with a sad fondness in its voice as it seemed to get lost in a long-forgotten past.

  “I miss those days.”

  Simon looked at the little flame. “What happened?”

  “Well… mortals age. I kept growing stronger. The original ones I helped got old. And then…”

  Glint suddenly stopped. His flame flickered unnaturally.

  “Glint?” Simon asked.

  “Oh, that’s too bad. I was enjoying discussing my past with you,” Glint said. He floated off his lantern-like pedestal. “Well, Simon, this is where I leave you.”

  “Wait, what do you mean?” Simon asked, suddenly alert.

  When had he started standing?

  Where was the extremely comfortable chair he had been sitting in?

  “The System has finished integrating! Best of luck. If you live long enough, come find me on the outside!” Glint said cheerfully, glowing brighter than he had during their entire conversation.

  “What? Do you mea–” Simon began, but Glint was already gone.

  The world turned gray, and Simon couldn’t move.

  A massive prompt filled his vision.

  —- System Notice —-

  > INTEGRATION COMPLETE.

  Realm successfully adapted to protocols.

  You may experience temporary disorientation.

  > User Status: [UNCLAIMED]

  In accord with realm divine sponsorship…

  Preparing patron selection process...

  Calibrating…

  Please wait…

  > Sending user to selection.

  Harmony is offered. Growth is earned. Limits are unknown.

  Good luck.

  —-—-—-—-

  Simon stared at the prompt.

  Why do I need luck?

  —— ? ——