The most cosmically important conversation was taking place in perhaps the most underwhelming location one might expect. The future of the physical universe and its inhabitants was being discussed in the kitchen of a suburban Queens home.
I'm in my kitchen, Mark mused while placing a hand on the kitchen island, standing across from… God, after witnessing the secrets of life, the evolution of the Earth, and the greatest sights of the universe. I really missed these marble countertops.
With a sigh and a gesture towards the living room, Mark started, "Shall we sit? I think my legs are gonna give out soon, so, uh, please?" The exhaustion of the last hour is hitting all at once.
"Of course, let's." God, looking very pleased with himself, brings himself to sit on the leather seat with Mark following right behind plopping himself down on the white fabric couch.
The tension was so thick you could cut it with a butter knife. Silence stretched between the two like an infinite divide. Mark stared out the living room sliding doors and, not knowing what to say, just waited for the divine being of infinite power to start the conversation.
God looked content to let the silence stretch, sensing that Mark needed to gather his thoughts more than anything else at this moment.
After several minutes of silence that became more comfortable as the seconds passed by, God began. "Mark. I have chosen you for a specific reason and part of that reason is your love for your family. I hope you recognize that this will not be a short endeavor for you. This will last thousands, millions, billions of years, possibly longer. You may be effectively immortal one day. What can I do for you to make this process mentally possible for you?"
Mark's mind reeled. He'd thought of all the aspects of cultivation, immortality included, but to hear God himself say he may live for billions of years or even longer was a much more blunt confirmation of the time scale than he thought he'd get. As an extremely short lived human, it was impossible to even conceptualize what a life of this span would even begin to look like. Who would he be at the end of this road?
"I understand. Not truly, but I'm doing my best to understand. How far are you willing to go to accommodate what I think I'll need? How often will I be able to consult you? Do I have any time constraints?"
God nodded, appreciating the aspects of his chosen architect that he specifically chose him for. That analytical mind, willing to push the boundaries, even at the risk of sounding rude to the most powerful being in existence. The raw honesty of his inability to comprehend even the remote scale of time he'll be working with. He loved it.
With a warm smile, "I'm willing to go very far, just ask and I'll say yes or no, but I doubt there's much you could ask for that I wouldn't be able to accomplish. What is important for you is whether or not I'm willing to do something," he adds with a chuckle. "You will be able to consult with me relatively often, but I do have a side project that will indispose me for a short period of time... for me, of course. Very, very long for you. When you reach a certain point of accomplishment, that project will take off and I will introduce the new energy into the universe. From that point, you just need to keep forging the path ahead, alongside the other complications that someone in your unique position will encounter."
He was being very vague. Too vague for Mark's liking, but from that mischievous smile that dared Mark to ask about the special project told him everything he needed to know about what kind of answer he'd get.
With a sharp glint in his eye and a shark-like grin, Mark begins his requests, "Fine. Let's go all out then. First and foremost, I need you to give me as much information as possible about this energy. Would it be appropriate to assume it functions very similar to Qi from immortal cultivation stories? Second, I need to be granted the utmost talent for this energy and beyond. Grant me the one true physique and or soul. Third, I need to be able to grant other people the ability to cultivate, as many as you can give me. Fourth, and perhaps most important, how will I be able to absorb and utilize this energy if it won't actually be present in the universe, and will I need external resources?"
God maintains that smirk, "First, if that's the way you want to conceptualize it for now, then do that. It works well enough. The intricacies will hopefully not be lost on you once your journey gets to a certain point."
That prompts an eye roll from Mark. Another vague answer, whatever, I'm calling it Qi and fulfilling my inner nerd's love for xianixa.
"Second, I can do that. You will have the greatest talent to ever grace this universe, however, I cannot and will not touch your soul. Any outside interference in a soul will fundamentally change who they are, even if by improving the capabilities or functionality of it, it will change you in unpredictable ways. You will eventually have to interact with your own soul anyways, so when you get to that point, you'll have enough experience to understand what you can and can't do."
That's a bit of a relief, but the real question is, if someone ever interacted with my soul without my consent, would I even know? Would I realize that I changed?
Setting aside the philosophical questions for a later date, Mark focuses on the follow up answers.
"Third, I will give you an interesting way to designate those who can cultivate alongside you. I will let you create physiques in cascading talent levels. If you are the prime physique, unmatched by any in the universe, the next achievable talent would be first place. So, you'll get to assign one first place physique, two second place physiques, three third place physiques, and so on until fifth place. A total of 15 people may join your journey until the integration, choose wisely."
Mark was ecstatic, That's incredible! More than I could've asked for. With greater talent, they all have a higher chance of extending their lifespan. I'm guessing I'll have to figure out the first couple stages before I can even introduce it to them, though, or else it'd be like giving a baby a computer then asking it to make an operating system.
"And finally…" God's face becomes extremely serious, "don't worry about it! The short of it is that when you decide to absorb or utilize it, you will be supplied with it."
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God stares at the reader and mouths Don't worry about it.
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"And until the energy permeates this universe, you will not need any external resources. I can't guarantee that you won't want to use anything after that, however."
Mark decides to not think too hard about it. With a shrug, "Huh, well sounds like a whole lotta not my problem yet. So, uh, what now?"
"Now… one last little bout of pain and then you'll be ready, and I'll be heading out of here." A quick snap of the fingers and Mark was suddenly in his room on his bed, then he hears God's voice in his mind, "You're gonna want to lay down for this part, it will not be pleasant."
And before Mark can even respond, his body locks up. It starts with his skeleton, a pressure mounts inside each bone as if the marrow is boiling. Joints grind while ligaments tighten, snap, then reattach. The spine pulls taut until each vertebra cracks under its own reshaping. Teeth loosen, splitting at the roots, then reform.
The musculature starts next, his fibers rip apart in thin sheets with tendons recoiling like overstretched cords. New strands knit together in patterns that feel foreign to coordination. Waves of involuntary spasms lock the body in rigid shapes.
Then the skin, a heat rises under the surface as if the nerves are being dragged to the top. A crawling sensation as pores widen, shift, or seal. Layers sloughing, tightening, and reforming. Fingernails soften, then hardening with new shapes.
Silence arrives when the nervous network goes dark for a moment, followed by a violent return of feeling as a white static floods the senses when nerve pathways unspool. Old reflex routes sever themselves and the sensation of the body on fire spreads everywhere at once.
Any traces of asthma and abuse from tobacco leaves as the lungs fold and unfold into a new shape, breath scraping through reshaped airways. His heart rhythm stuttering while tissue thickens, thins, and reinforces itself. The stomach and intestines twist as if searching for new anchor points.
A cold rush when the chemistry of the blood shifts. Burning lines tracing the veins as vessels expand or constrict. Pulses that hit so hard they feel like blows from inside. The impurities of the body boiling themselves into oblivion as the reconstruction of his entire being continues.
The pain did not come in waves. It layered itself, stacking bone over muscle over nerve until he could not separate one agony from another. Finally, as the waves of pain recede, clarity blooms as the newly reinforced senses take over.
Hearing collapses inward, muffled, then exploding into clarity. His vision fractures into shards of color before realigning. Smell and taste rewrite their own thresholds so every scent burns like its new. Thoughts dissolved into raw sensation. Memories becoming infinitely sharper as the neural pathways fire faster than ever before. Mark becomes more aware of his body, mind, and self than ever before while his neuroplasticity returns to an even greater degree than when he was a baby. It all culminates into an overwhelming sense of newness and unfamiliarity, until finally, the body gives in from exhaustion.
When Mark wakes from his deep sleep, the world will begin to change forever.