"It is already time, it seems," the Sun God said in a nonchalant manner.
The first day had passed, and as usual, the time of the world would temporarily be stopped for the Gods to strategize, now with their world in mind.
Solatin observed as the world came to a halt and waited until it fully stopped before standing up from His throne and leaving through the foggy door behind it.
Longel stood still beside the throne, unmoving. Her long and splendid hair, as dark as the night, did not move an inch in this enclosed space.
Solatin could not discern what His angel was currently feeling. He was not good with people, thus why He stayed alone most of the time, Uqlurius being one of the only Gods He had contact with, His last touch with society in some way.
Solatin walked through the door with utmost confidence. He had no strategy in mind, as His world appeared to be vastly different from the previous ones, not in terms of epoch or technological advancements, but something other than that. This world seemed to hide many secrets and to be of special nature.
Perhaps the organizers had played a trick on Him, or was it something else?
The Monarch of Gold couldn't help but wonder about the nature of His world.
"…"
Coming out of the foggy door, Solatin looked at the scene in front of Him. All of His twelve competitors had come out and were also acting in a similar manner.
Solatin was the first to take a seat at the round table.
It was a table of pure white, perfectly circular. In the middle stood a high pillar with the narrator standing on top of it. Solatin had no access to the public as of now, but They could look at Him.
As soon as He sat down, the table turned gold. This was a feature of the table, every competitor seated at it would taint it with Their color, in His case, gold.
The amount of pigment one would infuse into the round table depended on the current state of the game, the closer one was to victory, the more intense their color.
As He was the only person seated at the table, He had no way to know how He ranked in the grand scheme of things. Was He in a good position? Was He in a bad spot?
Not that the early ranking really mattered, it was more or less a way to determine how good Their worlds were as of now.
Solatin also had no way to know in which epoch each of the Gods inherited Their worlds. He had personally gotten hold of a world in an already late stage of development, but it was both a blessing and a curse.
Of course, He would have no need to push civilizations forward in order to acquire new knowledge, but He would also have a harder time spreading His influence.
Atheism and other beliefs were already a part of this society, and most people were unwilling to let go of what they thought.
Humans were not creatures of change in themselves. They may have been great at adaptation, but there was a reason why humans preferred comfort over challenge, having a stable work situation instead of exploring the world.
Humans liked the sense of foreknowledge, knowing what would happen until the end of time, for eternity.
It was obvious they feared the unknown, but so did everything else. Solatin also was scared of things He did not know of.
Reconversion was not very common in this already grown humanity, and people stood by their original opinions instead of constantly adapting to the flow of time.
Logic would tell them to follow what had proof, but something else told them to believe in their guts.
Such was the nature of humanity.
Solatin relaxed in His chair and rested His royal face on the back of His left hand.
It was true that humans liked to be in the comfort of what they called home, whether it was in the true sense of a house, or maybe in a more metaphorical allusion, such as an interest or a group of people. Sometimes, your friends could feel closer to home than your family.
But humans also had something that most species in all dimensions did not possess.
Thrill!
Thrill was what inherently governed the world!
Danger, competition, glory, the definitions of thrill were many.
It was different from one to another.
For the prophet, this thrill could perhaps be closer to glory, but for another, they might want to feel danger or seek a powerful opponent.
But the truth is, thrill creates a purpose for our lives.
One may seek a comfortable life, but in the end, it is closer to wanting to rest on a comfortable bed than seeking to sleep on it forever.
If they fell out of a tree, would one prefer falling into a hole or onto a mattress?
Every sentient being sought thrill.
Humans.
Vampires.
Dragons.
Elves.
Gods.
From the pettiest of children to the grandest of Gods, the search for happiness had no limits.
Both humanity and the prophet seek after this very reality, the ultimate sense of ecstasy.
Thrill was an ephemeral sentiment, those who once tasted its flavor would end up on a never-ending road in search of the most fulfilling thrill.
Solatin smiled unknowingly.
Soon, all of the Gods advanced to the table as the thirteen participants sat at the round table, which was now tainted in a rainbow of color, without an ounce of the previous golden hue.
Even I want to feel such a thing, the ultimate thrill, my goal in life…
Solatin's expression became one that couldn't be identified. It represented a feeling that most people wouldn't have the chance to feel in their life.
It was not a feeling restricted to divinity, no…
It was a feeling that seemed very human in a way.
No God would ever feel something akin to this again.
I hate being lonely. I hate that people misunderstand me. I hate not understanding others.
I want to be loved.