Occillo; Colloquium

The current is stronger than anything I've ever experienced, whipping us forward at a speed rivaling a bicycle. The water, unexpectedly, is very deep despite being vicious rapids it seems, as I am mostly underwater, legs down, and have not touched a single rock the entire time. Normally I'd feel suffocated and afraid of death while experiencing this situation, but now I can just hold my breath indefinitely to avoid any unsavory water getting into my system. Currently, I'm wondering how Syfeid is holding on and if he's even conscious.

We drift down the seemingly infinite rapids at a consistent pace for what seems like forever. I don't dare try to free an arm to swim towards shore, lest I lose my prey and only loose end that I went and ranted to.

Sigh, I betcha he's already dead and drowned by now, but I really can't have him go and babbling that divine retribution is upon us.

Another passage of time later, I've managed to claw my way up Syfeid and grab onto his chest, using him as a raft of sorts. I make sure to keep his head underwater, hoping that he simply drowns.

The rapids are still going strong. I feel like they're going to the end of the world until I see a calm patch in front of me. I feel elated and prepare to drag Syfeid to shore to drop a rock on his head.

The water at the calm spot is surprisingly shallow, and I stand up with Syfeid, or his body, in tow. I'm not really sure if he's alive or not, but I don't wish to take the risk.

I stumble onto the shore, consisting of rocks, sand, and more rocks. I prop up Syfeid's head on top of a flat, thick rock, and I go and find the biggest rock I can physically lift.

"What was is you said to me...? So, nice talking to you and all… But you can go to hell motherfucker!"

I drop the rock on his head, and it results in a satisfying, wet, crunching sound. His head is everywhere- my bare legs, the rocks around us, and a nice chunk lands into the river.

I laugh loudly and obnoxiously for all the world to hear, then stumble over to a tree and prop myself up against it.

Hmm, it's been an exhausting day all in all. I've killed 20 or so people, one of which I considered a friend of sorts. Well, I also crippled the commander and he'll probably die from infection or dehydration. He shouldn't be able to walk back to the base, and if he told someone where he was going specifically then they shouldn't be able to heal 3rd degree burns regardless- they'll get nice and infected. Haha, technology, bitches.

I am a bit perturbed with my state of mind directly after I erased that camp. Hopefully that won't be a recurring theme. Huh.. Well, I have better things to worry about right now, such as the fact that I am most probably a wanted criminal in a major country now.

I get back up and strip Syfeid of his clothes, finally covering my giblets. They're wet, ripped and bloodstained- but they'll work. The shirt, notably, has a large hole right starting from the middle, dragging down to the bottom, revealing the stomach of its wearer. I don't take the underwear or the shoes because of sanitary reasons. Despite the fact I wouldn't get sick from wearing wet shoes, it's still for the best that fungi doesn't grow. The underwear speaks for itself.

I go back to the tree and sit back down, giving myself a minute to just calm down.

All the sudden, a white light envelops me and takes root in my eyes.

"Oh boy, I wonder what's going to happen now," I say, with the sly grin on my face speaking for my attitude on the matter at hand.

As the light retracts, I find myself behind podium that's part of a 72-sided equilateral, all points made up of the same white marble podium. The space around is the same of that in 'God's' world.

Behind each podium is a person. The shape is split in half with an invisible line down the middle, separating the men from the women. The races of everyone was varied as well.

In the middle, a single familiar pink apparition is floating in place, bobbing up and down.

Ha, so, here we all are. I had a feeling it wasn't just me.

"It's nice to see you again, O' lord and savior pink blob," I call out to it.

"Mm, likewise, waste of air human garbage," it calmly retorted. The familiar, awfully annoying voice reverberates through my skull once more. I grin at its banter.

It announces, "Well, case and point, the first person to control a kingdom has done so."

What? It's been like, what? 3 days?! How is that even possible?

"As you can see around you, you are not the only one who was transported here. In fact, 36 men and 36 women did, all placed in individual countries.

"Since this is quite the occasion, I took it upon myself to make some announcements and declare some rules for this swell game of ours. As for rules, there is only one. Obviously, no loopholes are to be had, and if anyone tries any funny business you'll see the power of a being on my level.

"This one, important rule is that you may use no knowledge of technology from your past life here. The reason for this is that we wouldn't any unfair starts now, would we? I personally like the democratic ideal of equal opportunity, and so I took it upon myself to fulfill that."

A few moans and grunts of annoyance are heard throughout the crowd.

"Now, onto announcements," he says. I can, strangely enough, almost hear a malicious grin in his tone. "First off, I don't wanna spoil much about this wonderful world that I took painstaking time and effort into making for you all, so I'll keep this short. After all, I want you to enjoy and relax while you spend your immortal lives here. The planet here has simulated Earth's properties and laws perfectly, and the unit of measurements here are translated alongside everything else, so no adjustments are necessary in that matter.

"On that note, I have added a few laws myself. I won't state them all due to previously stated reasons, but there are some you should know, such as the Law of Progress. This law states that the development of the sciences and non-magical technologies shall be impeded, no matter the effort and previous knowledge put forth, and instead the progress and development of magic and the effects of magic on the world shall be sped up, if only slightly, compared to normal. The second law that's worth noting is the Law of the Property of Mana. This law states that magic, as an energy, acts similar to both radiation and electricity, in addition to the property that it can be considered a perfect energy that is controlled by willpower and mental fortitude. When I say perfect energy, it actually can do anything if enough conditions are set. Mess around with magic; you'll find some fun things to play with.

"The third announcement is something that should spice things up and create a nice diversity and sense of competition between you all. The sooner you possess a country, the sooner you can claim a unique power, one of 72. I'll directly upload the full list into your brain. You can claim a power as soon as you have a country that is recognized by at least 2 other countries under your care, but I won't distribute any of them, save the outliers, until everyone has succeeded. So, you might end up carrying some of the losers along.

"Fourth up, we have our last announcement of the night. If any of you feel the need to make contact with me, simply do a small ritual. I'll send the details directly to you once again. Following that up, you are allowed to utilize me in the sense of hosting a group meeting, such as this one, if there is a need to do so for whatever reason you may have."

I take a look at the ritual first. I recall it as if it is a paper that I studied rigorously for a test, and now know by heart. The contents are pretty concise; it's just a simple blood ritual. It states that I will need to kill a person and use their blood to draw a pentagram and chant, "Hey, can I have a pleasant conversation with you please?"

Sigh, if it was me before today I would just get mad at it for this, but now I'm merely disappointed in the wasted opportunity shown here. It could have been random company slogans, over the top slander of any sort directed towards the person killed, or anything really.

I suppose I'm just not taking the whole situation seriously now. Before, I was genuinely scared of killing someone and took it seriously, but now, it seems silly to get worked up about merely another dead person. The world is full of death, so who cares if I contribute to the cause?

The last part of the document is the catch. It reads that every time you use the ritual, the next time requires one more sacrifice.

So, does that mean that in a hundred thousand years the amount of sacrifices will be in the thousands? It seems I should conserve myself from these audiences, then.

"So, that's all from me. I'll let you all stay as long as you want to discuss whatever you need to. Ciao," he finishes. He implodes into nothingness, pulling no air with him.

Interesting. There is really no air in this space at all...

Discord erupts and chaos takes root in the meeting hall. People are shouting, kicking and screaming, seemingly only being able to bottle their emotions during 'God's' speech due to his overwhelming pressure, being a being that can create a planet.

"Guys, guys, c'mon there's no need for this unruliness…" I start, but I'm drowned out by the crowd.

Whatever, plebeians. I'll wait for you to calm down. Haha, seems like a lot of these guys were banking on their otherworldly knowledge. To be fair, I was too. However, not so much that this ruins my plans. I mean, who wouldn't try to get some returns from their high school chemistry class? Well, let's check out our list here.

I recall the list from the depths of my memory. It's just what it seems like it would be, just a list ranked from 1 to 72 with a name and a small description about it underneath. The ones that grab my attention in full are numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7.

Number 1 is very potent. It states that having this power allows complete mastery of the 4 elemental schools.

Number 2 is titled Enlightenment. The details pertain to the title faithfully. It lets the bearer know all the secrets of the world, and some hints on what to do with that enlightenment.

Number 3 is not a battle skill, but something to retain one's humanity. It lets its user to eat, sleep and have sex normally without consequences, not even having to use the restroom. Further down the list are those 3 things individually, but obviously all 3 bundled together is more preferable.

Number 4 is my current go-to. It would let me have complete mastery of any magic school that I can think of.

Hahaha, I wonder… I'll have to ask 'God' later. That would be a very fun school of magic.

The last one that grabbed my attention, number 7, once again is a passive skill. It is called "Mentor", and lets its user's students learn faster.

I look back up to everyone else and see that most people are lost in thought, going over the 2 documents in silence.

A few minutes pass, and more and more people are looking around, observing and taking mental notes on everyone. Eventually, the last person looks up, and everyone looks at each other in silence.

I feel a tight pressure well up against my chest, expanding until it becomes unbearable. I'm hesitating to speak my mind... but I suppose hesitation will only lead to someone else taking over.

Well, here goes nothing.