**Max still doesn’t understand the situation he’s in.**

  "You could’ve just come to my house! Why kidnap me? My family will worry—they’ll think I’m missing!"

  Amber scoffed at him.

  "You really think we could just knock on your door?"

  "Uh… I didn’t think about that. But was the kidnapping really necessary?"

  "I’m sorry, Mr. Max, but we need to keep your identity as Jahweh a secret for as long as possible. And don’t worry—we’ve taken care of it. Your parents won’t be concerned. I promise."

  "But if you recognized me immediately, wouldn’t others figure out who I am?"

  "Listen, Mr. Max, I’m not the only one who can sense your power. The one who killed Jahweh—someone called the God of the End—can feel you too. Let’s just say you need a certain level of power to sense the energy of creation within you. And he was the one who sent Sophia after us."

  Thomas stared at Max as if expecting a different reaction.

  "Why are you looking at me like that?"

  "That name—the God of the End—doesn’t it make you remember? Or at least give you a more serious expression?"

  "Honestly, no. I don’t feel anything beyond confusion."

  Thomas looked disappointed.

  "Sometimes, mentioning names from our past lives helps us remember—or at least triggers some emotion."

  The Goddess of Fate, Amber, cut Thomas off.

  "Are you giving him *The Talk* right now? Ugh, I’m going to prepare the ship for departure. I don’t have the patience for your rambling."

  Thomas sighed and turned back to Max.

  "Anyway, the only ones who know who you really are are me, you, the rest of the Guardians of Creation, Neo, and the God of the End. Oh, and Sophia, because the Goddess of Life got too excited and shouted your name… Well, it doesn’t matter now. The God of the End already figured it out."

  "So Sophia is connected to him(God of the End)? I remember her screaming something about a ‘New Empire.’ Is he involved too?"

  "Yes, he sent her, and he’s the one who founded the New Empire. This isn’t the first time we’ve encountered her, but usually, she’s alone—well, not *alone* alone. I think he sent her to test her."

  "Wait, wait, wait—if he *knows*, then why bother hiding it?"

  "He’s not the only problem. Until you can control your power at a respectable level, it’s better to keep this as secret as possible. And don’t worry—he won’t spread the truth. He’d rather keep it to himself. For now, we need to stay low-profile. But there’s a lot you need to know, and we call this *The Talk*. It’s what we gods call the conversation we have with reincarnated deities to help them regain their full powers and memories."

  "Even you went through this* talk*?"

  "Yes, me too. Come on, let’s go somewhere more organized than just standing here."

  "Wait, wait—before I go in, can you explain why you even need me? Do you expect me to drop everything and come with you? It's an honor to meet you, but it's a lot to ask—to just get up and go to a place light-years away from my home."

  "Max, you have a responsibility, not just as a god, but as a human. We've all gone through this. You need to understand that we need you not only to join the Creation team but also to help us save the lives of people. Right now, the world is in a state of division and war, and we need your help to restore everything to its original state. So I promise—come with us, at least. We'll be back before the human sun rises. I promise."

  Max looked confused but thought to himself,

  "Alright, I think I get it... but I still want to live in my own home, not here."

  Thomas smiled

  Max followed Thomas as a doorway opened in the wall. Max thought he was imagining it but kept following. They walked through a corridor that looked like a palace hallway—just without any doors.

  "You see, Max, not every room has fancy hallways like this. Only the ones meant to host guests. And don’t get me wrong—it’s not that we didn’t *want* to, it just felt unnecessary for rooms barely anyone sees."

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  —This place is exactly like I’ve heard. The Guardians of Creation live here. I can’t believe I’m actually here—that I’ve met every one of them. Wait… What about the Goddess of Life?

  "Wait, is the Goddess of Life okay?"

  "Don’t worry, she’s fine. She’s still resting in her room."

  "What a relief. I thought I would’ve been the reason she died.."

  "Mr. Max, I recommend you get used to calling us by our true names. You’re not just some ordinary human anymore."

  "You have human names?"

  "Indeed. All of us were once like you—humans who discovered who we really are. My human name is Thomas. The Goddess of Life is Emily, and the Goddess of Fate is Amber. I was the first to awaken my power."

  " So that's why you're the leader of the Guardians of Creation."

  " Not exactly. I was just the first to appear on Earth—the others came after. I’m not the leader"

  A robotic female voice echoed through the ship.

  **"Ship ready for departure."**

  The ship lurched forward, sending Max flying to the other side.

  "Seriously, Amber? Did you do that on purpose? We were in the middle of something!"

  Thomas walked over and helped Max up.

  "Are you alright, Mr. Max? Amber can be… eccentric, let’s say."

  "Yeah, yeah, I’m fine—but hey, I still don’t really get it—where are we going?"

  "Didn’t I say earlier? Maybe I forgot, we’re going to meet your successor. We’re heading to the New Pantheon Palace ."

  "And we’re just leaving Earth completely exposed? What if something happens?"

  "It’s more complicated than it seems. Contrary to what most of humanity thinks, we’re not exactly *Earth’s* protectors. The only reason we were there was to wait for *you*. And, well, to keep up appearances, we’d occasionally stop asteroids or help nations in their wars."

  Max’s eyes widened as he realized the Guardians weren’t truly protecting Earth—they were protecting *him* because they knew he’d be born there.

  "So you don’t actually care about Earth?"

  "Not exactly. It’s more complicated. We’re not just Earth’s guardians, we’re meant to help everyone, even beyond Earth."

  Amber’s voice suddenly shouted from a newly opened doorway.

  "Thomas! It’s Neo. She wants to talk to you."

  Thomas looked annoyed, as if she’d called at the worst possible moment.

  "Mr. Max, I have to take this. We still have a lot to discuss. Look around the ship or hopefully, this won’t take long. She loves to talk sometimes."

  Max didn’t know what to do, especially since to him he was in a hallways full of walls with no door. He couldn’t understand how they used doors here, so he just stared at the room’s window.

  Max looked out the ship’s window and was stunned to see they were already light-years away from Earth.

  "I’ve never seen a ship move this fast."

  Suddenly, the ship accelerated even more, plunging them into darkness—a void where no light reached. But the ship didn’t stop. It felt like they’d entered a wormhole. Max couldn’t believe his eyes.

  "One thing I know for sure—this is beyond anything I could’ve imagined."

  Then, just as suddenly, they emerged. The view outside shifted again—now showing a world with self-illuminated planets and people floating effortlessly through space.

  **"Successful arrival at the Realm of the Gods."**

  —Where *are* we? Are those people… gods?

  A loud voice boomed from outside the ship. Max looked out the window and saw three figures.

  "Halt! In the name of the New Divine Army. We’re conducting a search of your vessel."

  Amber stormed out of the control room, furious.

  "I *swear*, they do this every time! Can you believe this?!"

  "Who are they?"

  "Didn’t Thomas give you *The Talk*, Bob?"

  Max flushed.

  "My name is *Max*, not Bob."

  "Whatever. Those guys are the New Divine Guard. They try to do their jobs by annoying us."

  Amber walked toward the wall, and a door materialized in the middle of it. She stepped through.

  The guards outside looked stunned.

  "So, why’d you stop us this time?"

  The lead guard paled as if he’d seen a ghost.

  "A thousand apologies! We didn’t mean to disturb you or the Guardians of Creation! We’re just doing our jobs—you understand, right? We have to inspect unauthorized ships."

  "You always stop us when we cross into the Divine Realm!"

  "You have to understand—most of the time, you come from *questionable* worlds. We can’t just let anyone through. Would you like an escort to your destination?"

  "Don’t you have other ships to harass?"

  "You’re right! Please forgive me! Have a pleasant day!"

  The whole time, Max had been staring out the window. Amber noticed.

  "See something you like?"

  "N-no! I just wanted to see what you’d say to them. I wasn’t staring at you."

  A portal opened right where Max stood. A freezing gust of wind made him jump back.

  "Ha! Relax, I’m just messing with you. Ship, set autopilot to the New Pantheon."

  **"ETA to New Pantheon Palace : Five minutes."**

  "Max, do me a favor and go wake up Emily."

  "You mean the Goddess of Life? *Me?*"

  "Yeah, yeah, Bob—Max. I’ll go get Thomas. Why is Neo talking to him if we’re about to meet her anyway?"

  Amber started walking away.

  "Wait, where *is* she?"

  "You’ll find her. Just think of her and touch the wall."

  A doorway opened, and Amber stepped through, the wall sealing behind her.

  Max approached the wall.

  "*Think* of her? What’s that supposed to mean?"

  He touched the wall and focused on the Goddess of Life. He didn’t know much about her, but what he *did* know was that she was, quite literally, a goddess. He thought of all the times the Guardians had saved Earth.

  It made him reflect deeply—what *was* the Guardians’ purpose? What would happen to Earth after they left? Did humanity even *need* them?

  A doorway opened.

  "Did it work?"

  He stepped into a room where someone was speaking.

  "How many times do I have to tell you? It’s *really* him."

  "Is that Thomas?"

  Thomas seemed to be talking to a hologram of a woman.

  "Wrong room, I guess."

  Then Thomas said something that caught Max’s ear.

  "He still can’t control his power. I don’t know why."

  —Who’s he talking to?

  "Yes, yes, I know. You have to understand—when the rest of us regained our powers, we could at least control *some* of them or at least had fragments of memories return. But from what I’ve seen, he knows *nothing*. Yes, I’m sure it’s Jahweh—I *saw* him fight."

  —They’re talking about me?