Max lowered his cigarette. Looking up into the sky, he released a mouthful of smoke that slowly wafted into the air, lifting toward the sky.
His brown eyes looked like amber under the lamplight. He stared in front of him. The streets were empty; not a single person was on them.
He closed his eyes and enjoyed the silence. Humming softly, he lifted the cigarette that was in between his fingers and retook a puff.
*Ping!*
He glanced at his phone, and for a few seconds, he stared at its black screen before accessing it. On the illuminated glass, a message had popped up.
[I miss you.]
Max stared at the message, he took a small puff before throwing the cigarette down and stepping on it to unlight it.
He opened the door to return inside the club, walked inside, and swayed his body to the beat of the music, all the while grabbing a random person's drink and chugging it down.
The person was offended but Max threw a couple of bills into his face before walking right into the crowd. A woman threw herself at him, his groin rubbed against her ass, the woman extended her hands to his neck and rubbed her arse harder, and went down, dancing in a very sexy manner.
Max spent a few minutes with her before walking away toward his friends at the bar table who were calling him.
He sat with them and glanced at the bartender, a single look was enough for him to know what drink to make for Max.
Max glanced at his friends and asked, "So... how was the harvest?"
One of them smiled toothily, he had long blonde hair tied into a ponytail. His visage was very well sculpted and angular. The best feature was his light blue eyes.
"All sold."
Max nodded. "Good."
As everyone would be thinking. Max here was the leader of a small-time drug supply group. He would get batches of fentanyl from the mafia in charge of his area and would sell them.
Recently, the batch of fentanyl he had received was one of the best, coming from the heart of China's secret agricultural factories.
From the corner of his eyes, Max noticed that his drink was served. He held the glass in the palm of his hands staring at the liquid inside.
His blonde-haired friend glanced at Max and then sighed, he patted his shoulder before speaking.
"I am going to the dance floor, there are some really hot 19-year-olds today. All from rich families. Heh. I plan to taste something new today."
Max nodded taking his words into consideration. He stared at his drink and spoke softly, "I'll be there" his voice muffled in the loudness of the 'We Found Love' by Rihanna and Calvin Harris playing in the background.
Taking a sip, Max's shoulder hunched a little. He was pondering. How had life changed for him? So much. It seemed like yesterday that he was a nerd, collecting Pokémon cards, playing with Beyblades, and watching anime.
His family was too poor to afford video games but he still played this one game called Naruto Online on his cheap laptop that he loved dearly.
While he was never the top player since they were most of the time paid to win, he was still well known and had been in the top 10 rankings of the server due to how much he ground the game.
Fast forward, a few years later when Max was about to graduate from high school, his parents one day suddenly vanished leaving behind a huge pile of debt.
Working at Subway did not help him to cover those debts, so he got into peddling. One thing led to another… and he became one of the local suppliers for the drug gangs.
Max paid his parent's debts, completed his high school education, got into an online college, and was even now studying for a degree. A major in law and a minor in psychology.
He got himself a mini harem of drug-addicted chicks in his cozy apartment. Then even dumped all of them and got himself a proper girlfriend. Dumped her as well.
Why? Intimacy and Trust issues. Max had a hard time letting anyone into his heart, understanding him, and an even harder time trusting people.
Right in the middle of his contemplation, Max felt a shove, his palm pushed against the drink making it spill.
He turned around quickly with a slight look of confusion and retaliation. However what he saw shocked him.
It was his uncle!
Uncle Oink!
"Uncle Oink?? What are you doing here? I thought you were dead."
Uncle Oink smiled wisely. His profoundness radiated with a myriad sense of wonder and his presence lit up the entire dark room of the club.
Likewise, Max stared at Uncle Oink, his uncle still looked young… daresay younger than himself… and very handsome… extremely so.
"I decided to check on you nephew, you seem very depressed. As for death? No, I was never dead… only traveling across the world. Like your parents."
Max furrowed his eyebrows. His uncle was strange… after years and experience of dealing with people… seeing them reflect death and insanity in their eyes… Max had a great understanding of human nature.
Uncle Oink was different. He had a maxed-out aura to himself that was almost perceivable… now that he thought of it… Uncle Oink was always peculiar.
Coming to their trailer at weird times, lending his dad massive amounts of money without any expectations.
Or were there…?
"Are you the devil?"
Oink was almost surprised, he chuckled aloud before sitting beside his nephew.
"No, no my dear nephew. I'm not a devil. Just a guy with a few connections. Call me a broker. Your parents made a deal with the devil, I simply brokered it."
"Now I have a deal for you. A god doesn't want to be a god anymore, are you willing to take his place?"
Max frowned. 'A god? Devil? Broker? What the fuck's going on here?'
Uncle Oink smiled, "You probably think I am scamming you but I am not. The Rules of the Law do not allow fooling in such matters, it leaves an insanely huge karmic debt on one's soul. Gods generally get bored, they live for eternity… naturally when they have fulfilled their duty… their purpose of existence disappears… that is when times come for them when they meditate in profound stillness to gain liberation from material and spiritual abode to ascend to the ultimate cosmic sky becoming a drop of bliss in an entire ocean of so. However, when they do so, their power and status must be passed on to a successor. Just so happens a spot is open… it will close soon. After all, it's not every day you get to become God. You in?"
Max hesitated but seriously thought… Uncle Oink's words sounded a little delusional and too fantastical. He doubted anything like this could exist. He was a fool to even think his parents made a deal with the devil… that's too far-fetched.
However, if there was a possibility… maybe becoming God could help his depression.
"Sure. I'm in."
Uncle Oink smiled.
"Cool. Congratulations! You are a God now!"
Max dumbfounded stared at his uncle for a few seconds and his surroundings. Nothing happened. He didn't feel a rush of energy, no special powers… absolutely nothing happened.
"That's it? I am God?"
Oink nodded, still smiling.
"Yes."
Stretching a little bit, he patted Max on his shoulder and whispered in his ears.
"Remember with great power comes great responsibility."
Max stared at his uncle with disbelief in his eyes, seeing him begin to walk away just as nothing happened…
"What a weird exchange. Like I thought. Uncle is batshit crazy and delusional and I am an idiot for believing his words for a second."
Chugging his drink in a single go… Max stood up, wobbling a little as he walked to the dance floor to hunt for some hot 19 year old fresh out of highschool dumb naive ladies.