What Happens Afterward

Nephim

nephim

"--ushed! Wh... where am I?"

I was in some sort of white void, alone. I wasn't sure if I was actually making any progress anywhere walking around the space.

"The story is over, you, my final champion," a voice called.

"Who's there?!" I cried, "Where's Kroff, and Shaw?"

A figure approached me, easily about twice my height. Their skin pink, their face androgynous, features formed with white, glowing creases, clad in gold robes and a cascading waterfall of blue plasma resembling hair. "I am Nephim," the figure said, "and you have brought this world to an end."

"I—I didn't mean, to Ne... Nephim... wait..."

The details of their face changed from white to red. "Oh dear... you don't remember a thing, do you?" their voice motherly and soft.

"Only about the past week or so, I woke up and was told my death would reset the story."

Nephim's face once again changed back to white, it spoke in a strong, confident tone once more. "That is correct. You were one of my champions in a past regeneration, but this story's been stuck grinding its gears, only growing more and more complicated. With all of the champions finally resting, it can begin once again, with a single, new champion."

"...So, I was a... a part of you? What exactly does this all entail?" I asked.

The lights of the figure's face changed to be a deep yellow, and it chuckled as it encircled me. "Here, let me help you with that," they said, reaching out and touching me with a white, smooth, almost mechanical hand.

Bit. Your name is Bit. You are to decouple the old afterwards, crushing Linus underneath. You must not fail at your job.

Things are a bit different. You are not Memmi anymore. I don't know why. Pick a new name. It's for the better.

Memmi. You are Memmi. You must remember.

Remember, you were Tammy. You are not her anymore. Find a new life. Prevent this world from falling into ruin. Remember.

I am Tammy. I am Tammy Wilson.

I am... sobbing. "It's... been so long," I said.

The lights of Nephim's face became blue, and they wrapped an arm around me in support. "Seventy years longer than any other iteration," they said, "you must be exhausted."

"But... but this all means..." I choked.

"Yes, it begins anew. This story will find itself back at the beginning, when we first formed it, and progress from there. There will be only one champion, and you get to pick who it will be, provided they have never been a champion before. They will be granted immunity from natural causes of death, but if they are killed everything resets once more."

"I..." I struggled.

"No, no... you don't need to be anywhere else at the moment," Nephim said, holding me tight, "breathe. You have done so much to help the people you care about, and put a stop to forces that wanted tyranny to break our story. You deserve a rest. We have all the time in the world. Just as soon as you have picked a champion, let me know and this moment will cease to be. You will wake up on a beach, remembering everything, your powers will be transferred to your champion of choice, and our story will start over from the beginning."

"What about... what about Kroff, Shaw... what about Constantine?" I asked.

"Your friends will be fine. They will have no memory of the horrors or bloodshed they were a part of. You should be the only person with any awareness of the past iterations."

"And Suzy, Emmi..." this next part nearly impossible to bring myself to say, "...what about Tammy?"

"Suzy and Tammy will be fine. Their duplicates will remain, alive and well. We can accomodate changes to the lore, we can forge a new path."

"...What about the Earth?" I asked.

"I... cannot tell you. They won't let me know about the other universes running in parallel to this one. I apologize."

"...No need," I sighed.

I sat in this instant for what felt like years, coping with all I had heard, recovering from the nightmare I had just woken up from, accepting the warmth and light that had enveloped my skin, feeling my soul become just as warm, just as light. "I think I'm ready," I said after a great long while, perhaps minutes, perhaps days, perhaps centuries.

"Have you picked your champion?" Nephim asked.

"I have."

"Then let's start back at the beginning."