Max stood in the middle of a street that technically hadn't happened yet.
Everything felt wrong.
Not broken — just… early.
The air smelled younger. Buildings he remembered weren't built yet. Some signs were missing. A few landmarks existed only as empty lots.
Omnipresence didn't do this.
It never did this.
He existed across time normally. Simultaneously. Past, present, future — all layered like pages in a book he could flip through at will. Boring. Exhausting. A constant migraine of existence.
But it never threw him.
He clenched his fists.
"God!" Max shouted into the sky. "I know you hear me! What the fuck is going on?!"
Time froze.
Not slowed.
Stopped.
The city became a statue.
Smoke hung in the air like glass.
Sound died mid-echo.
A presence stepped in behind him.
"My, my," God said calmly. "That is quite the pickle you've put yourself through."
Max turned slowly.
"Why can't I go back to the present?" he demanded. "I would really prefer not to live through all this again."
God blinked, amused.
"Well," He said, "there lies the issue. You haven't lived through it yet."
Max stared.
Then his expression shifted.
"…Oh," he said quietly. "Right."
He grabbed his head, careful not to reopen scars.
"I never actually did this," he murmured. "I just… had the memories of doing it. My old self didn't exist. He was a placeholder."
God nodded.
"Exactly. Your 'past' was a narrative scaffold. A ghost life designed to move events into position. You arrived later and inherited the outcome, not the journey. That is why everything always felt… off to you."
Max exhaled sharply.
"So I'm stuck," he said. "Reliving two years."
God waved a hand lazily.
"Oh no, no," He said. "Not reliving. Living. For the first time."
Max dropped to the curb and sat.
"This is going to suck," he muttered.
God crouched in front of him, voice gentler.
"You only need to do one thing," He said. "Make them fall in love with the real you."
Max looked up.
"Not the constructed version. Not the ghost who existed to check boxes. You."
God tapped Max's chest.
"I'm not telling you to reveal you're a Primordial End-of-Existence Entity," He added dryly. "Please don't do that yet. But your personality. Your choices. Your flaws. Those must be yours."
Max groaned.
"That's hard," he said. "If I didn't have the wish helping me, I'd be too nervous to talk to them."
God smiled.
"The wish still functions," He said. "They are drawn to you. But attraction isn't ownership. You still have to meet them halfway. And this time…"
He tilted His head.
"You might actually cross lines you were too afraid to before."
Max looked away.
"Won't that mess with the timeline?" he asked quietly.
"It's in the details," God replied. "The core events remain anchored. Engagement. Party. Canon milestones. Those happen. But the path between them? That is flexible."
He snapped His fingers.
Rings appeared on Max's hand.
Five of them.
Each faintly glowing.
"These are your markers," God said. "When a heart is truly won, its ring shines. When all rings shine, you return to the present."
Max flexed his hand slowly.
"And if I win others?" he asked.
"New rings," God said simply. "Hearts are expandable. That Imp Millie? You can win her over. In this timeline she doesn't get married till a week beforeyou awaken. And not with Moxxie seriouslyfor a year."
Max snorted.
"And if I mess up?"
God's expression darkened slightly.
"If you miss a key opportunity," He said, "you loop. Repetition without progress is… unpleasant. Even for our kind."
Max swallowed.
"So I just… live," he said.
"Yes," God replied. "Win their hearts the way you remember — but enjoy it. Be yourself. Eternity is a long time to spend pretending."
He paused.
"Oh," He added casually. "You don't have my god-tier override powers here. And none of your Misfit universe privileges either. If you want to hide your strength, now's a good time."
Max blinked.
"So I'm nerfed."
God smiled innocently.
"You're mortal-adjacent," He said. "Build character."
Then He vanished.
Time resumed.
Noise crashed back.
Cars moved.
Wind breathed again.
The world continued like nothing had happened.
Max stared at his hand.
Five rings.
Faint glow.
Promise.
Burden.
Chance.
He stood.
"Great," he muttered.
He looked toward the street where fate waited.
"Now I go meet Loona."
And this time…
It would actually be the first time.