"They won't," Truck-Kun said as he started to walk, motioning Zane to follow. "The one who may be interested in your services is waiting for us elsewhere." They walked across the circle into a pathway that ran in between the different stalls and other magic circles. Different gods sat around, looking bored or talking to each other. Each of these beings looked at them as they passed and Zane could feel many eyes on him. What surprised him was the waves of emotion that came with the stares. He felt great degrees of anger, envy, and even lust. He started to feel very uncomfortable.
"Why are they staring at me?"
"Because they all want you."
"Why?"
Truck-Kun laughed. "Because I chose you. I've never chosen anyone to be my representative before. That makes you desirable. It's a simple case of they want what they can't have."
"So, there's nothing special about me? It's just that you happen to choose me." Zane muttered
Truck-Kun spit on the ground. "Don't give me that crap. Of course there's something special about you. I wouldn't have chosen you otherwise."
"Will you share with me what is so special about me?"
Truck-Kun gave him a side eye. "Fishin for compliments, huh? Fine, I'll indulge you. You managed to avoid my trucks for six months. No, not just avoid them; play with them. After the first few times, you began to enjoy it. You had to convince yourself not to look for opportunities to interact with my trucks. The fact that you were getting a rise out of my attempts to kill you really annoyed me. Then I got involved in the game. Trying to find a way to outwit you. It just wasn't working with a single truck. I needed to find a way to get more trucks involved, but that was hard without attracting the notice of other humans. Then you made a mistake. Do you know what that was?"
Zane nodded. "I went to that abandoned building complex."
"Yes! You put yourself into a trap, but you almost got out of that. I was amazed as you used my trucks against themselves. I figured you'd try to stay on the raised concrete, avoiding the trucks completely, but you used the flat tops of the truck themselves to lead you out of the trap. That was genius. If I hadn't of kept one truck back, you would have gotten away."
"Would that have been so bad?"
Truck-Kun nodded. "That was my last chance to get you. I had been delaying your cancer, but after that day, it would have surge forward and you would have been dead within a week. It would have been a painful death. Does that sound bad?"
"Fine you saved me from a horrifically painful death," Zane looked at him. "Am I going to get one on this new world you're sending me to?"
"Maybe," Truck-Kun admitted. "But this will be a lot more fun."
"I hope so," Zane mumbled.
"Trust me," Truck-Kun said with a smile.
Zane shuttered. "That makes me not trust you."
Truck-Kun laughed. "You don't have much of a choice right now, do you?"
"Nope." Zane said with a shake of his head, but he was smiling.
The path led out of the area where the gods were vying for the attention of potential heroes and Zane gasped at the sight before him. The end of the realm could be seen and beyond was a view of the universe. Countless stars glittered before him in a bright sea and galaxies turn in front of him. He stopped, gawking in wonder.
Truck-Kun turned to look at him. "Let's keep going. This isn't even the best view."
Zane followed along, wondering what view could be better. He couldn't stopped staring and kept slowing down until Truck-Kun grabbed his arm and pulled him the rest of the way. Zane wasn't sure how long they were walking for when he noticed the land dropped off in from them. His breath caught again as he stopped at the edge, the sea of celestial bodies spread out below him.
"I never get sick of this view," a voice said next to him. Zane looked down at a God he hadn't noticed. He was sitting with his legs below the knees hanging off the edge.
"It is quite magnificent," Truck-Kun said, sitting down next to the other God. "That's why I put this place here instead of in a separate realm."
"That was an excellent choice," the other God said. He then looked up at Zane. "My name is Érimón. What's yours?"
"Zane."
"Zane," Érimón repeated, "Interesting. Not a name that has shown up in my world yet. Tell me, Zane, why should I let you come to my world?"
Zane shrugged his shoulders and sat down. "I don't know. Ask him."
Érimón laughed as he turned to Truck-Kun. "Gzi'om, why should I let him come to my world?"
"What?!" Zane said, leaning over to look at the God. "Your name isn't Truck-Kun?"
"Of course it's not Truck-Kun," Gzi'om said. "That's more of title."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you didn't ask."
"Truck-Kun?" Érimón said, a confused smile on his face.
"Don't start," Gzi'om said. "Humans on his world are weird. I will admit, it works out for me."
"Why would they be any stranger than humans on any other world?"
"It's a Nexus world."
Érimón nodded. "That would explain a few things. I guess that's part of the answer, but what other reasons are there?"
Zane was confused. What was a Nexus world?
"Well, let's not forget that you came to me asking for help," Gzi'om said.
"I came to you asking for your insights into a problem I'm having. I didn't ask to be sent one of your enforcers."
Gzi'om gasped. "Enforcers? I don't enforce anything. I provide an opportunity for Gods to skirt certain rules in exchange for an agreed upon price."
"That's not what I've heard," Érimón muttered. "What happens if the God doesn't pay your price?"
"I take away the souls that they took. Any accusations of me encouraging Heroes to turn against the Gods that chose them are false. It's not my fault if their relationship soured."
Érimón studied him for a moment. "Ok, I'll believe you…this time. So, why should I allow this mortal onto my world with your blessings upon him?"
"You came to me with a problem that you can't solve," Gzi'om explained. "You don't have the information I need to help you because you can't see it for some reason. You yourself said that your own mortals have not been able to find any information and many have not come back after looking for it."
Érimón nodded.
"That's where he comes in," Gzi'om said. "Being from a Nexus world, his power potential is much greater. Plus, crossing through this realm further enhances that potential. Also, he has abilities bound to his soul, giving him an edge. When you add my blessings to your own, he should have enough power to overcome whatever is preventing you from finding out the issue you are having."
"So, he'll just come in and overpower everything?"
Gzi'om spread out his hands to Érimón. "That's up to you. His natural abilities will give him the upper hand against any one at his initial level, but where he starts is entirely up to you. You could start him at the top, though he would still have to learn how to use his skills, or you could have him start at the bottom and work his way up in power." Érimón leaned back on his hands. His eyes looked they were seeing things far away.
"What's going on?" Zane said after a few minutes, waving his hand in front of Érimón's face. "This is like the ultimate zone out."
"He's viewing his world right now," Gzi'om said. "He's probably figuring out if His mortals can handle this problem on their own."
Zane sat back, looking at Gzi'om. "I'm wondering. What's a Nexus world?"